Free face masks, thermometers and hand sanitizer.
Grant funding.
Public health information, and trusted advice.
All of this, and more, is now available through the $33.4 million Lancaster County Economic Recovery Plan, which is designed to help small Lancaster County-based businesses and nonprofits safely re-emerge from months of economic shutdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Gateway to the plan is a new website, RecoveryLancaster.com, with portals to register for free personal protective equipment (PPE) and to apply for emergency funding. The site will also feature public health information, data analysis, training resources and an opportunity to subscribe to an email newsletter with the latest updates.
Spearheaded by the Lancaster Chamber and the Economic Development Company (EDC) of Lancaster County and fueled by volunteers, the plan approved by the Board of Lancaster County Commissioners is funded by the $95 million in Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act money that the county received from the federal government.
The distribution of $6 million in free PPE-related items and a $25 million Small Business Recovery & Sustainability Fund are key to Phase One of the Economic Recovery Plan.
“The pandemic has caused considerable economic disruption across Lancaster County,’’ EDC President Lisa Riggs said. “We hope these two programs will give our small business community, from agriculture to retail, a helpful boost as we navigate the next few months ahead.’’
