BUSINESS GROWTH

BUSiNESS GROWTH helpers A LOOK AT THE : THE PEOPLE WHO WENT ABOVE AND BEYOND DURING THE CRISIS

BY MARYA PENNINGTON, PUBLIC RELATIONS MANAGER

When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always be able to find people who are helping. - MR. ROGERS

In the wake of the COVID-19 crisis, the Billings business community rallied to support and encourage one another, as well as provide valuable resources, services, and products to help navigate struggles they were experiencing related to the pandemic. These are just a few examples of those individuals and businesses that went above and beyond to “be the people who are helping.” ALPHA-OMEGA DISASTER RESTORATION AND MARS OF BILLINGS joined together to volunteer their services to clean and sanitize the Billings Police Department’s police cars at no cost.

BACKPACK MEALS mission is to meet the needs of hungry children by providing them with nutritious and easy-to-prepare food to take home on weekends and school vacations when other resources are not available. With the school closures, the program had to get creative in how to distribute meals to students they serve. Additionally, the school district fed breakfast and lunch to an average of 1,800 students each day during the closure. From March 30-April 10th backpack meal kits went home to students, and then from April 17th-June 26th the school food service began providing weekend food as well.

BIG SKY CUSTOM HOME BUILDERS offered free desserts to anyone ordering takeout or delivery for an entire weekend from local restaurant Sophie’s Kitchen. They gave away a total of 50 desserts.

BILLINGS FLYING SERVICE had a trio of engineers, Peter Yegen, Mikale Lynch and Tom Decker that built a working ventilator in their shop using a design provided by Rice University in Houston, as a backup plan for the community.

BILLINGS CLINIC NEUROSURGEON DUSTY RICHARDSON AND LOCAL DENTIST

SPENCER ZAUGG AND HIS SON COLTON designed the 3D printed face mask, dubbed the Montana Mask, that was downloaded and shared all over the world. They also did laser cuttings required for some of the Billings Flying Service ventilator components.

BILLINGS COMMUNITY FOUNDATION AND UNITED WAY OF YELLOWSTONE

COUNTY collaborated to raise and distribute funds for the COVID-19 Community Response in Yellowstone County, providing funds to the Yellowstone County Continuum of Care to meet shelter and homelessness emergency housing needs.

AN “ART IN ISOLATION: RESPONSE TO COVID-19” SUBMISSION, MENDING BY MANA LESMAN

BILLINGS GAZETTElaunched their Local Marketing Grant program to offer matching marketing funds to local businesses whose livelihood had been impacted by the COVID-19 virus. To date, the Billings Gazette has worked with more than 100 local small businesses and non-profits to award more than $250,000 in marketing grants ranging from $300–to $15,000 in the Billings Gazette and through their other digital agencies.

BILLINGS MUTUAL AIDE NETWORK began as a grass roots effort organized by Nina Hernandez and Kendra Shaw to connect people in the community who were in need of critical resources. Billings Mutual Aid expanded to an even larger network, adding pods focused on supporting healthcare workers, the community’s vulnerable population (that was instrumental in the installation of a handwashing station in front of Billings First Church in downtown Billings), and on food insecurities. Their goal is to continue this widespread effort in the community far beyond the current COVID crisis.

BILLINGS IS STRONG CAMPAIGN was created by Visit Billings for the hospitality industry. The Billings Is Strong graphic on posters and window clings were made available for hotel entry ways and store fronts to promote solidarity and strength for the tourism and hospitality industry in Billings.

Billings Strong T-shirts designed by MONTANA CORRECTIONAL ENTERPRISES were sold to support the Billings Family YMCA, Boys and Girls Club of Yellowstone County, and the Billings Clinic as they addressed the needs of local healthcare workers, essential workers and first responders by providing much needed childcare.

BILLINGS STRONG YARD SIGNS was a grassroots effort begun by Jonna Jones of Wendy’s, Dan Carter of Exxon, and Leif Welhaven of LW Consulting, to build a sense of community spirit and pride for Billings. All proceeds from the sale of the signs benefited the COVID-19 Community Response Fund with the Billings Community Foundation.

BILLINGS SYMPHONY offered free online concerts for the public to enjoy while practicing social distancing. As of this writing, they have posted 12 connection concerts with more scheduled, and a 1.5 hour virtual fundraiser. Their concert videos were viewed by over 12,500 people!