MARION – As the COVID-19 crisis continues to cause economic hardship for small business owners across the State of Illinois and throughout the United States, Southern Illinois’ legislative delegation are endorsing a new “Southern Illinois Strong” t-shirt fundraising drive. State Senator Dale Fowler (R-Harrisburg) and State Senator Paul Schimpf (R-Waterloo) have joined with State Rep. Terri Bryant, State Rep. Dave Severin, State Rep. Patrick Windhorst, and State Rep. Nathan Reitz to promote and support “Southern Illinois Strong.”
The bipartisan delegation of legislators are supporting Southern Illinois Strong by sharing information on their respective Facebook pages to raise awareness. Funds raised from t-shirt sales will be deposited into an account managed by the Southern Illinois Community Foundation (SICF). Grants will be awarded to small businesses impacted by the coronavirus outbreak and will be awarded by SICF via lottery.
The fundraiser website is SouthernIllinoisStrong.com. The website will allow for t-shirt orders, donations, and for grant applications to be submitted. Grant recipients will receive grants up to $1,500 per business. Eligible businesses must have 25 or fewer employees.
The Southern Illinois Strong fundraiser will run from Thursday, April 16 through Wednesday, May 6. Applications for grants are due by Monday, May 4th.
For more information visit SouthernIllinoisStrong.com or visit Southern Illinois Strong on Facebook @Facebook.com/SouthernIllinoisStrong.
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