Welcome to Memphis has started a Welcome to Memphis COVID-19 Fund to assist hospitality industry professionals whose income has been displaced by the pandemic. Those affected can apply for one-time grants by the end of the business day Monday, April 6. Go to the Welcome to Memphis website and click Apply Now on the pop-up that appears, or click COVID-19 fund at the top. More info:
We are here to help by disseminating financial assistance through the Welcome to Memphis COVID-19 Fund. Starting today, hourly workers in the hospitality industry who have received a termination notice may apply for for a one-time grant online at the Welcome to Memphis website. The application will be open and available from Tuesday, March 31 through 6:00 p.m. on Monday, April 6.
Eligible applicants include hourly employees who work in the Memphis area hospitality industry, including employees of:
- Hotels
- Restaurants and bars
- Tourist attractions
- Convention services
- Tour operations
Because this is a limited fund, recipients will be chosen based on a lottery-style system, after the deadline closes. No priority will be given to early applicants. Everyone who applies during the Tuesday – Monday time window will have the same opportunity to be chosen through the lottery-style system. Grant money will be distributed through Venmo or PayPal. You can set up an account for Venmo here and PayPal here.
The week of April 6, Welcome to Memphis will begin awarding individual, one-time grants of $300 each. Recipients will be notified via the email address you include with your application.
The grants are funded by the Mid-South COVID-19 Regional Response Fund hosted by the Community Foundation of Greater Memphis (CGFM), and the number of grants we are able to disseminate depends on the amount of money available. As a partner recipient of the CGFM, we are very grateful to the Foundation and their partners for providing much-needed assistance at this critical time.
Side Hustle, Chef David Todd’s temporary to-go arm of Hustle & Dough in the Arrive Hotel, has released its menu for this week. Click menu to view in a larger size. I’ve been told the sourdough is already sold out. 901-701-7577 is their number.
The National Civil Rights Museum will host Remembering MLK: The Man. The Movement. The Moment: A Virtual Broadcast Saturday, April 4 at 5 PM. This will take the place of the usual physical celebration that happens on April 4. Tune in to the Civil Rights Museum website to be a part of the event.
Skilled volunteers needed in Memphis to respond to the COVID-19 outbreak:
SKILLED VOLUNTEERS NEEDED for community support, administration, logistics, and more!
Join @MEMPHISOEM and @VolunteerMEM to create a Skilled Volunteer Pool of healthcare and non-healthcare professionals to respond to COVID-19.
Register Here: https://t.co/sqpZhiDDDu pic.twitter.com/Iwuvs6zRNr
— Leadership Memphis (@LeadershipMphs) April 1, 2020
The Memphis Flyer has moved its online paper to digital publishing platform Issuu, so its readers will get the best possible experience. Good move. I have worked with Issuu in past jobs and it is a solid publishing system.
Wimbeldon has been canceled due to the coronavirus outbreak.
A Panama City Hooters restaurant played an April Fool’s joke on its employees. It backfired big time.
This is a really good idea:
I hope whoever came up with this gets due credit. Our neighbor is older and lives alone so I gave her 3 color pieces of paper for her window which faces our window. Green is for I’m OK, yellow for need help with an errand, and red for emergency. Isolation Communication.
— Willie Garson (@WillieGarson) March 31, 2020
This tweet summarizes life in Spring 2020:
My hunt at 3 stores for Charmin toilet paper came up empty this morning. Only off brand toilet paper with names like ‘yes, this will hurt’ remains
— Roland Scahill (@rolandscahill) April 1, 2020
The Arkansas Derby, scheduled for Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, has been rescheduled from April 11 to May 2. The winner of the Arkansas Derby gets more than half the number of points needed to qualify for the Kentucky Derby. That May 2 date sounds awfully optimistic, but I wish them the best, because if the horses race May 2, I’m probably sitting at a bar that day.
How I wish I were sitting at a bar today… but I’m not. Back later today or tomorrow with more news.