Businesses every day are struggling and quickly adapting their operations to survive in the Coronavirus pandemic. If you're not an essential worker, you are probably quarantining yourself and loved ones at home. You might be online and worried about your favorite business or organization making the cut with tough times. Wondering how you can help them. Turns out employers and employees are finding creative ways to support themselves and YOU can make a difference. Virtual shopping can be both a lifesaver and fun.
Creekwater Alpaca Farm in Snellville, Georgia
One of our favorite places to visit is Creekwater Alpaca Farm located right outside Atlanta. It's a fantastic place with alpacas, pigs, rabbits, a LOUD rooster, quinea fowl, goats, and the caretakers who love it. They were really hit hard and facing an animal food shortage so they started a GoFundMe campaign. Then, they began to offer Zoom barn tours. We donated to the campaign and also paid the fee to take the Zoom tour. We had a good time the first morning it was offered with our beverages and hanging out at the dining room table. It was fun to listen to stories about the animals and get a close-up view while social distancing.
Stuck at home? Take a personalized virtual alpaca farm tour with your friends and family! ONLY $15! Great educational experience and lots of fun. We also have bunnies, goats and pigs! Message us or call 770-465-5181.
UPDATE: They are now open to the public beginning Saturday, May 9th, but you'll need to book a barn tour to visit so make sure you check out their site for details.
Honorable Mention – Campaign is closed but worth noting.
Stands offered a Supernatural tshirt campaign that offered 100% of its proceeds to benefit COVID-19 causes.
The Supernatural cast and crew (tv show on the CW) are dedicated to raising money and donating to key groups during times of crisis. They recently aided Puerto Rico and other hurricane hit cities. They consistently promote a campaign for mental health to fight depression and raise awareness. It’s called Always Keep Fighting. The main co-stars Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles along with other cast members all have separate charities they assist in addition to group ones. Supernatural has an enormous fandom and they consistently donate and buy merchandise to support the causes. The dedication is real as most merchandise quickly sells out. I scored a shirt before the campaign ended and am super excited!
100% of profits will benefit Feeding America and Meals on Wheels
Pounce Cat Cafe
This is a great place to visit with 2 locations: Charleston and Savannah. Pounce is a cat cafe where you can pay to book time to hang out with cats, and support an awesome cause – helping homeless cats find homes. The boys and I had a really nice time last year on spring break at their Charleston spot. They are struggling at the moment and you can support them by donation and/or ordering merchandise, if not for you, for your kiddos or to cheer someone up during these dark days. Personally, I like the wine coffee mug, cat ears, and sweet beanie. I just wish it got cold enough here to wear it! There's an earlier article about them on our site. Check out their merch and order today!!!
JNJ Apparel in Tuscaloosa, Alabama
My husband, John, is a graduate of the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. In fact, generations of the Graham family have earned their degrees at “Alabama”. John supports them in numerous ways, so when he found out that a local Tuscaloosa company was helping restaurants and bars in town, he ordered merchandise to support them too.
Apparel Line Benefits Tuscaloosa Restaurants, Bars
The following statements are excerpts from an article published in TuscaloosaNews.com written by
Mark Hughes Cobb.
“My wife and I live in the downtown area,” said JNJ co-owner Michael Wright. “We know how important it is to support the local businesses.”
Like others extending helping hands in hard times, JNJ’s created original art, limited-edition shirts as a benefit project for those establishments, most of them forced to cut staff, and those that can open being limited to take-out service only.
“We’ve been able to donate about $30,000 right now, back to local restaurants and bars,” Wright said, in checks ranging from $1,000 to $5,000. “By the end of the month, we should be close to $50,000.”
Businesses get original JNJ-created design shirts, which they link and promote on social media. In addition to serving to keep the businesses’ images in the public eye, a substantial portion comes back, after JNJ’s costs. Depending on the number of colors, the fabrics and styles, shirts sell from about $25 and up for Ts, and $32 and up for hoodies.
As a win-win, it’s also helping keep JNJ staff employed.
“This is not about revenue, but to help out others who’ve not been as fortunate, and to keep our production going,” Wright said.
Read more about their efforts and how a change in one business can help others get by during this unique time of cities sheltering in place.
These are snapshots of the creativity out there for getting through this odd time we are living in. We all want to get back into the world and see one another, but until we can, maybe we can raise our spirits by shopping for good causes.
