Saturday was a jam packed day for Chamber members and for the townsfolk in general. We had he Community Garden’s Solstice event, Grant Writing Workshop, Lemonade Day, Main Street Faire and in the meantime many of us were glued to our Facebook feeds watching Matt Shepard run the Backyard Ultra. It was a huge weekend and we were glad to be a part of it.
One important function of any chamber of commerce is to enable business and businesses. On Saturday two of those events were on display. Simultaneously Chamber members were participating in the Hidden Grants Workshop and enjoying the faire put on by Wild Rose Entertainment. Both of these were collaborative events put on to benefit the community.
The workshop was a traditional learning opportunity, chambers everywhere host talks and seminars to help build capacity in their business community. Valleyview’s Chamber picks workshops that are especially helpful to small business owners since they make up a large portion of our business community. This weekend’s workshop was a huge success. The topic was “hidden grants” and ways that businesses and community organisations can access money already allocated by a variety of sources to help them out. Some of these could be for energy upgrades, summer student employment, and training. Jessica Hadfield attended:
“The Grant Writing Course was amazing. Gave excellent ideas and format on how to write grant applications for obtaining funding for both businesses and not-for-profit organizations. Klay also spent extra time helping individuals come up with ways to increase their funding and provided resources for sites to visit. Would definitely recommend this course.”
For the majority, the most visible Chamber event was the Street Faire. Each year the Chamber helps jump start the faire by inviting a carnival to town and helping connect them to the right permits and resources they need (such as water, plug ins or porta potty providers). By doing this the Chamber gets the benefit of bringing a bit of joy to town. Our members enjoy mini doughnuts as much as anyone! On top of the delicious sugary goodness, carnival games, and flashing lights it is also good for businesses on 50th Ave and beyond. As people come to town everyone benefits. With so many people milling about 50th the retailers and restaurants have a chance to take in some summer business. One wonderful example is our youngest members! The wonderful entrepreneurs at Summer Days Lemonade sold 250 lemonades on Saturday. Great job!
Thank you for coming out to support and enjoy this weekend. Keep an eye out for more from the Chamber leading into autumn. Join us on Facebook or follow us right here for news and upcoming events!