Office of Mayor Thaddeus Kirkland                                                                                       

  

 

                                                                     

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                                   


contact: Aigner Cleveland 

Press Secretary  

acleveland@chestercity.com 

 

City of Chester Distributes $42K to Local Businesses Impacted by COVID-19  

A dozen businesses in Chester received financial assistance through the City’s  

Micro Enterprise Grant Program  

 

(CHESTER, PA) – The city of Chester is pleased to announce that it was able to distribute more than $42,000 through its Micro Enterprise Grant Program to 12 local businesses that have experienced hardships due to the COVID-19 pandemic.   

 

Chester received $750,000 of federal funding through the Community Development Block Grant Coronavirus (CDBG-CV) Program to assist the city with its response to the effects of the virus. With this funding the city allocated $50,000 to support local businesses.  

 

“This pandemic has caused tremendous difficulties for millions of people all throughout the world,” said Councilman William Morgan. “More specifically, the virus has negatively impacted city operations and that of our local business owners. That is why it was important for us to create the Micro Enterprise Grant Program with the sole purpose of offering support to our struggling local businesses.”  

 

With the help of the Chester Economic Development Authority (CEDA) and Entrepreneur Works, 12 businesses have received an average of $3,500 in grant money to date.  “Our office (CEDA) took lead with administrating the grant program on behalf of the City,” said Lisa Gaffney, Executive Director of CEDA. “We were able to receive all of the applications and work in partnership with Antoinette Truehart at Entrepreneur Works to identify eligible candidates who met the program criteria and were in financial need.”  

 

 

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: 

 

Micro Enterprise Grant Program 

The city of Chester’s Micro Enterprise Grant Program was created in May 2020 in response to the negative impact of COVID-19 on local businesses in the community. Funding for the program comes directly from federal financial assistance through the Community Development Block Grant Coronavirus (CDBG-CV) Program.  Eligible candidates must have a Micro Enterprise Business located in the city of Chester and demonstrate the need for financial assistance as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. A Micro Enterprise Business is classified as a business with five or fewer employees, one or more whom own’s the enterprise Additionally, to qualify for the grant, at least 51% of the employees must have low to moderate income. 

 

Entrepreneur Works 

Entrepreneur Works is a nonprofit organization that offers access to microloans, business training, and one-on-one guidance to hundreds of entrepreneurs each year, empowering small business owners from all walks of life to succeed, prosper, and build sustainable communities. 

 

 

TM Café LTP First, Inc.  

$5,000 

Sirrah Care Professionals LLC 

$5,000 

Howling LLC 

$5,000 

C-Pride Taxi Company LLC  

$5,000 

LA Taco Bistro  

$4,000 

Peculiar Travel LLC 

$3,500 

C. Davis Consulting LLC  

$3,000 

MJ Motion Management, Inc.  

$2,800 

Headliners Barbershop 

$2,600 

Amazing You Events LLC  

$2,500 

Quest 2B Elite LLC  

$2,300 

J. Nicole Merchandising Agency  

$1,900