Plymouth, MA — The Plymouth Area Chamber of Commerce (PACC) and Masks4Meds are proud to announce the Plymouth One Fund, a fund created to provide financial support to qualifying small businesses in Plymouth, MA. The immediate goal of the One Fund is to aid businesses affected by the COVID-19 Pandemic. The long term goal is to continue the initiative indefinitely to ensure small businesses have options for support when experiencing financial hardships. The PACC and Masks4Meds have set an initial goal of $250,000, and as a result of the fundraising efforts by the Masks4Meds team, the fund is off to a great start with nearly $20,000.

The Plymouth One Fund will host its first fundraising event, Couchella, on Saturday, May 9, 2020 from 7 -10 pm.  Couchella is a virtual concert featuring your favorite hometown musicians performing from their couch to yours. Couchella was created to entertain our community from the comfort of your home as we continue our efforts to social distance and raise awareness for the Plymouth One Fund. We have lined up an incredible list of local artists including Jake Hill, Hitch (of 3rd Left),  Zak Fey (of 3rd Left), Hayley Sabella, Mike McKenna (of Mountain Weekend), Abigail Vail, Chris Ballerini, The Lindsays, and Pat and Tom Fey (of The Fey Band). The artists are excited to perform their original music and will be aired with our media Partner, PACTV on Verizon Channel 43 and Comcast Channel 13 as well as live streaming on PACTV’s Facebook and YouTube channel. Throughout the virtual event, we will raise money to support the fund, highlight our heroes on the front lines, and hear from inspiring businesses who have been impacted by the COVID-19 Pandemic. We hope that families can enjoy this event and learn more about our dedication behind the Plymouth One Fund. Couchella will be the first of many fundraising events the team will organize to ensure the Plymouth One Fund is available to assist small businesses with hardships for years to come. For questions about Couchella, please reach out to Mike Hargrave at 508.410.5990 or [email protected].

Masks4Meds is a grassroots fundraiser spearheaded by Plymouth, MA residents. The initial goal was to raise funds to purchase surgical masks for Boston and South Shore, Massachusetts hospitals, nursing homes, fire departments, police departments, and other public facilities. As of today, the organization has provided 53,000 surgical masks to nearly 60 healthcare and public service facilities from Boston to Falmouth, MA.

The second goal of Masks4Meds was to create a community relief fund for small businesses in the Town of Plymouth. The relief fund has since been named The Plymouth One Fund and has become a collaborative effort between The Plymouth Area of Chamber of Commerce and Masks4Meds. Founder of Masks4Meds, Kosta Haveles said, “Our team wanted to help! We simply wanted to take action as concerned citizens, to do what we can to raise funds to immediately help our healthcare workers and provide financial assistance to those businesses we love to frequent. The support from the community has been off the charts and we want to make a positive impact with our donors’ support to get through this incredibly difficult time.”

The Plymouth One Fund will provide aid in the form of unrestricted grants to support rent, employee salaries, and operating costs. The Plymouth Area Chamber of Commerce, a trusted local foundation, will collect donations and administer the funds, with guidance from a committee comprised of members of the Chamber.  Small businesses will be asked to complete an application to determine eligibility and you do not have to be a member of the Chamber to apply. The Plymouth One Fund intends to release multiple funding rounds as monies become available. This goal is completely dependent on contributions. Donations can be made by visiting plymouthchamber.com. The team is hopeful to partner with the local service industries, enabling all parties to work collectively to raise money for ONE community organization.

“Thousands of businesses in our community are deeply impacted by the economic effects of COVID-19. These businesses support thousands of local jobs. They’re our friends and neighbors and the face of our community. We are committed to doing all we can to help them through this destabilizing time,” said Amy Naples, Executive Director of the Plymouth Area Chamber of Commerce. “At this time, it is imperative that we all work together to maintain the integrity and vitality of our small businesses, the backbone of our community. We are hopeful the community will support our efforts in helping our small businesses that are always the ones to step up and support all of us. In addition, the fund will also be teaming up with local businesses and organizations in Plymouth to create fundraising opportunities for the community to donate to the fund. The fund will grow by working together.”

To contribute to the Plymouth One Fund, please visit www.plymouthchamber.com

Note: The Plymouth Area Chamber of Commerce Foundation is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt and all contributions are charitable and tax-deductible.

Applications will be available on the Plymouth Area Chamber of Commerce website, plymouthchamber.com.