Show your love for all things local, including locally owned businesses! If you've been looking for additional ways to support local businesses, here's your opportunity! A partnership made up of Morgan County organizations has created a new fundraising t-shirt to benefit small, locally owned businesses in the hospitality sector to help them cope with the real world difficulties of the current global pandemic.
Created by the Martinsville Chamber of Commerce and Visit Morgan County, the “I Love Local” t-shirt design highlights the importance of supporting local business in both Morgan County and the state of Indiana. Other local organizations have been asked to join in. The Mooresville Chamber of Commerce will also partner in promoting the shirt and net proceeds from t-shirt sales will go to a special fund set up through the Community Foundation of Morgan County. Shirts will be produced by locally owned business SuperSports, located in downtown Martinsville.
Each of these organizations already exist to support and promote Morgan County in various ways, so it’s natural for us to want to help support our local businesses. All proceeds from t-shirt sales will go directly to a fund that will give grants to local businesses in the hospitality sector. These are primarily small, owner-operated businesses who may not be eligible for federally funded grants.
These grants will be focused on the hospitality sector in order to help ensure that visitor experiences survive the economic slowdown created by the global COVID-19 pandemic. Businesses throughout Indiana are beginning to reopen in accordance with Governor Holcomb’s Back on Track plan. That doesn’t mean their troubles are over, though as many customers will not be as comfortable out in public for some time and people are less likely to travel.
In addition, businesses like restaurants, retail stores and attractions depend not just on local customers, but on visitor spending as well. In fact, 25% of all visitor spending in Morgan County is spent on retail shopping and a whopping 43% is spent on food and beverage purchases. The small scale grants funded by this effort will focus on helping those businesses survive through months of reduced sales, as these locally owned businesses are vital to both the local economy and the local visitor experience.
The shirts are available in sizes from youth small through adult XXXL, so people of all ages and sizes can show their support for local Morgan County businesses! Shirts can be ordered online at a cost of $21 each ($23 for sizes 2XL and 3XL) and can be picked up at designated businesses in either Martinsville or Mooresville. Pick up locations will include the Martinsville Candy Kitchen on Main Street in Martinsville and Bran N Shorts Coffee House on Main Street in Mooresville.
Shirts are available in four colors – ash grey, light blue, sand and military green. The back of the shirts display the logos of the participating organizations and the hashtags #MorganCountyStrong, #INthisTogether, #ThisIsMorganCo, and #LoveLocal. Once your purchase is made, you'll receive an email with additional details for pick up.. Those who purchase shirts are encouraged to share photos while wearing the shirt on social media using these tags. Order yours or make a direct donation to the fund below.
Keep an eye out for your chance to win a shirt as well - we'll be giving a few away throughout the summer as prizes on our Facebook page!
