Kristine Altenor puts the finishing touches on a cupcake she makes through her business, On a Mission, Kreations by Kristine. Altenor’s business participated this week in a Shenango Valley Chamber of Commerce food distribution at the Community Food Warehouse of Mercer County.
SHARON — In a normal year, this would be John Bianco’s busiest season.
His business, The Corinthian banquet center in Sharon, would be occupied every weekend with wedding receptions and other summer celebrations. But the COVID-19 has brought it all to a standstill.
And he isn’t sure when things will get moving again. Some of the wedding parties that canceled their summer ceremonies were rescheduled for the fall, and Bianco doesn’t know if restrictions stemming from the coronavirus will allow events even then.
“What’s different about this is the brides who have scheduled for September and October,” he said. “It’s like trying to hit a moving target.”
But The Corinthian got a little bit of a lifeline this week. As part of the Shenango Valley Chamber of Commerce’s #SupportOurFirstResponder initiative, the banquet center provided a lunch of chicken and vegetarian wraps and past salad for workers at the Community Food Warehouse of Mercer County.
Sharon’s COVID-19 business support fund — under the city’s share of federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security, or CARES Act money — paid for the lunches.
The chamber of commerce helped facilitate the funding for the lunches and paid for desserts, made by On a Mission: Kreations by Kristine, through a grant from the Community Foundation of Western Pennsylvania and Eastern Ohio.
Now, the chamber wants to expand its community service, through the creation of a 501(c)(3) charitable, non-profit fund, overseen by the community foundation. Previously, all of the chamber of commerce’s operations fell under the 501(c)(6) not-for-profit designation, which froze the organization out of most types of private and public grant funding with donations not deductible on taxes.
Donations to the chamber’s 501(c)(3) fund will be tax-deductible.
Sherris Moreira, the chamber’s executive director, said the COVID-19 pandemic made the chamber board aware of the need for flexibility to serve the community at the same time it serves businesses in the Shenango Valley. During the crisis, the chamber has, through the #SupportOurFirstResponder project, provided lunches for more than 50 police and fire departments, EMS providers, hospitals, and other agencies and businesses continuing to work.
With funding from the Community Foundation, the Mezaros Foundation and other charitable groups, the chamber has spent more than $17,000 at Shenango Valley-area restaurants, candy shops and caterers such as The Corinthian and On a Mission.
“There was an awareness that we could be doing something for the community,” Moreira said. “Of course, COVID brought that to the forefront.”
She credited two neighboring chambers of commerce — the Lawrence County Regional Chamber of Commerce and the Youngstown-Warren Regional Chamber of Commerce, both of which have their own 501(c)(3) organizations — for helping the Shenango Valley Chamber of Commerce establish its own non-profit.
In addition to the #SupportOurFirstResponder effort, the chamber plans on using its non-profit funding to provide 200 personal protective equipment packs for area businesses. The packs, which come in a drawstring backpack bag, include sanitizer, 20 non-surgical masks, five cloth masks, cleaning wipes, available to any business with fewer than 50 employees.
Buhl Regional Health Foundation, Community Action Partnership of Mercer County, the Community Foundation, Gear Medical Supply, ServPro of Mercer County and West Central Job Partnership provided funding for the PPE packs.
Kyle English, director of the Community Foundation, said the organization was excited to help the chamber with its non-profit initiative.
“The Shenango Valley Chamber of Commerce is part of the bedrock of our community,” he said. “The leadership that Sherris and the organization as a whole have displayed over the past few months in particular has benefited not only local businesses, but also valley residents who would not be helped otherwise.”
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the chamber has been working with the Shenango Valley Takeout and Shenango Valley Retail Facebook pages to promote local businesses that are still operating. Moreira said companies including Knox Law in Erie, Howard Hanna real estate in the Shenango Valley and LPL Financial in Hermitage have sponsored the purchase of restaurant and retail gift cards for prize drawings through the chamber.
The Shenango Valley Takeout page has helped On a Mission: Kreations by Kristine, said business owner Kristine Altenor, whose husband, Joseph, owns the Haitian Sensation restaurant in Sharon. She said the Facebook page has helped her business during the pandemic downturn
Kristine Altenor, who makes elaborately and artistically decorated cupcakes and other desserts, and her husband both engage in charitable efforts both locally and in Haiti.
“I mean, that’s what my husband and I are all about, we want to give back to the community,” she said. “We believe that you don’t have to go to a foreign country to give back.”
Both Kristine Altenor and The Corinthian’s John Bianco said they would be excited to participate again with the chamber of commerce in a future lunch event.
Bianco said the project is an example of the way the Shenango Valley community has come together during the pandemic.
“I’m just happy to be a part of this community,” he said. “The community is what we’re here for and we’re grateful for the support we’ve gotten.”
Follow Eric Poole on Facebook or Twitter @HeraldEricPoole. Email him at [email protected]
