Pensacola Strong: Helping Local Small Businesses Recover From Hurricane Isaias
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As Pensacola and the surrounding communities continue recovering from Hurricane Isaias, Must Do Pensacola is working to help the local small businesses that were impacted by the storm.
We have heard from business owners dealing with damage, lost inventory, lost revenue and other challenges that make getting back to normal difficult.
That is why we created Pensacola Strong, a community initiative focused on identifying the needs of locally owned businesses and finding ways to help.
What Is Pensacola Strong?
Pensacola Strong is an initiative from Must Do Pensacola created to support local small businesses affected by Hurricane Isaias.
Our goal is simple: find out what local businesses need and help distribute support where we can.
We are collecting information directly from affected businesses through our Small Business Recovery Form. The information submitted will help us understand the scope of the damage and identify the areas where assistance is needed most.
Submit the Small Business Recovery Form
We will use the information we collect to help determine how we can provide assistance, whether that means connecting businesses with resources, helping provide needed supplies, promoting businesses as they reopen or distributing funds raised through the Pensacola Strong initiative.
How Can Local Businesses Ask for Help?
If your small business was affected by Hurricane Isaias, we want to hear from you.
The recovery form allows business owners to tell us about the impact of the hurricane and what their business currently needs.
Businesses can share information about things such as:
Property or equipment damage
Lost inventory
Cleanup needs
Lost revenue
Supplies or equipment
Repairs
Getting the business reopened
Other recovery needs
You do not need to know exactly what the solution is before submitting the form. We are using the information to better understand what local businesses are facing and where support could make the biggest difference.
Tell Must Do Pensacola What Your Business Needs
How Can You Help?
There are several ways people can support Pensacola Strong.
Buy a Pensacola Strong T Shirt
Must Do Pensacola created a special Pensacola Strong shirt as a way for people to show their support for local businesses while contributing to the recovery effort.
Net proceeds from the shirts will go toward supporting local small businesses affected by Hurricane Isaias.
Shop the Pensacola Strong T Shirt
Donate to the Pensacola Strong GoFundMe
We have also created a GoFundMe to raise additional funds for local small business recovery.
The money raised will help us provide assistance based on the needs we identify through the recovery form.
Donate to the Pensacola Strong GoFundMe
What Will the Money Be Used For?
The goal of the Pensacola Strong fundraising effort is to put the money toward helping local small businesses affected by Hurricane Isaias.
Rather than deciding in advance that every business needs the same type of assistance, we are collecting information from business owners first.
As we learn more about the needs in our community, we will determine how the funds raised can be distributed most effectively.
That could include helping with specific recovery needs, purchasing supplies or providing other forms of assistance identified through the recovery process.
Supporting Local Businesses Matters
Financial assistance is only one part of helping businesses recover.
Local businesses also need customers.
If your favorite restaurant, shop, attraction, service provider or other locally owned business has reopened, consider supporting them.
Visit them.
Make a purchase.
Book a service.
Share their reopening announcement.
Tell your friends.
After a major storm, getting the doors back open is only the first step. Local businesses also need the community to come back through those doors.
Must Do Pensacola will continue highlighting local businesses and sharing information as the community recovers.
We Want to Know What Pensacola Businesses Need
The more information we receive from affected businesses, the better we can understand where help is needed.
If your business was impacted by Hurricane Isaias, take a few minutes to fill out the recovery form.
Submit the Small Business Recovery Form
If you want to help support the effort, you can purchase a Pensacola Strong shirt or make a donation.
Donate to the Pensacola Strong GoFundMe
Pensacola Strong
Pensacola has always been built around its local businesses, from the restaurants and shops downtown to the businesses along the coast and throughout the surrounding communities.
Hurricane Isaias created another challenge for many of those businesses.
Pensacola Strong is our effort to help identify those businesses, understand what they are facing and distribute support where we can.
If your business needs help, tell us what you need.
If you are able to help, donate or purchase a shirt.
And if a local business you love is open, go support them.
If this guide helped you plan your trip, you can support Must Do Pensacola by grabbing a sticker.
Buy sticker