We’re going to be out this week. Well, sorta … your Chamber staff will be out delivering PPE kits to businesses.

The kits containing 3-ply masks, KN95 masks and a large bottle of hand sanitizer are headed for 90 Ross County businesses – many of which are struggling to re-open because of the added cost of the items that allow them to resume business.

JobsOhio, through its regional partner OhioSE, obtained and provided the kits. They relied on the Chamber to help coordinate the effort to get the kits to the businesses with 100 employees or less. Tammy Eallonardo of Greater Chillicothe and Ross County Development helped us with the effort.

“The economy has slowed and shrunk so much,” Mike Jacoby, president of OhioSE told a Marietta TV station. “And to get that back, we got to be able to do it safely. Consumer confidence drives the American economy and if people are concerned when they go to a store, or a restaurant, that they’re going to get contaminated, they may not be shopping or buying. So, it’s important that we be able to help small businesses operate safely.”

The hope is the PPE provided will help keep the economy going and increase consumer confidence to shop and spend local.

As J.P. Nauseef, CEO of JobsOhio, said in a Cincinnati Business Courier op-ed Monday, “While JobsOhio’s mission is economic development, we recognize the current responsibility to assist our fellow Ohioans through direct community impact,” he wrote.

In all, 15,000 Safety Toolkits will be distributed throughout Ohio, including 1.5 million 3-ply masks and bottles of sanitizer.