Update April 21, 2020
Stay YKA Connected with online resources to receive relevant and timely information and provide important and necessary tools for Kamloops businesses and residents to endure the COVID-19 crisis.
Here’s your YKAStrong checklist to stay up to date:
Follow us on Instagram: @yka_strong Review our weekly email send out below Visit our website: https://www.ykastrong.com Use #ykastrong on your social posts.
Business Window Decals
Show your Kamloops #ykastrong pride and display a decal. Pick up is available at the following locations. Email to arrange a pick up time.
- The Kamloops Chamber of Commerce
- North Shore Business Improvement Association
- Kamloops Central Business Improvement Association
- Community Futures
PARTNER UPDATES
The NSBIA is working behind the scenes to support our members at this challenging time. We know that impacts to business will rise, as the length of this closure continues. To this end, we are providing the following supports to reduce these impacts and empower you to employ greater strategic planning in your business operation.
- Member Advertising. Starting on April 27th for ten days, we will be running our TakeOut Blitz for a second time. The ten-day program will encourage customers to order online or by phone and then have delivery or take out.
- Updated List Marketing. We are continuing to update the open business list on a daily basis and post these listings through ads on our social media feeds, and every other day on our website. This list is also provided to our media partners for inclusion in their news sites.
- Business Support Program. This Thursday we will be formally announcing our seven session Business Support Program Power Hour. This is a series of business development and strategy sessions, designed to give you the knowledge and tools required to maintain and or ready your business for its next evolution. Tune into our Thursday Member Mentoring ZOOM call at 4pm for details (get your invite by emailing jeremy@nsbia.com or check out our Wednesday Members Newsletter.
Finally, if you require any support or assistance, please feel free to reach out to either Jeremy@nsbia.com or Patti@nsbia.com or call Jeremy at the office Monday through Wednesday from 8:00am to 3:00pm. We are in this together, and we stand tall and proud of the service you are providing to our community. Thank you for continuing to be there, together we are YKAStrong.
Connected to business. Committed to Kamloops.
COVID-19 has turned our lives and livelihoods upside down. At TRU, even as we concentrate on supporting students to successfully complete their semester, we are well aware of the pandemic’s significant impacts on businesses across Kamloops. We are aware because you are part of us and we are part of you. As articulated in one of the four values of our new Vision Statement, “Community-Mindedness. We come together to help one another (Pelkwaílc-kt es knucwentwécw-kt). Mutual benefit guides us to connect meaningfully with people in the communities we serve, contributing to an interconnected world where we all share a common future and humanity.”
Joining in #YKASTRONG is a big part of how we hope to support local businesses. We see three main ways to bring value to businesses in Kamloops through #YKASTRONG:
Learning what’s needed so we can respond effectively
Through #YKASTRONG we are able to inform ourselves about the urgent and longer-term priorities for the business community, bring that information back to faculty and staff, and generate ideas and solutions we can then share. Some of this has already begun and will gather momentum as winter term exams and marking wrap up.
Sharing relevant research insights
One of TRU’s strengths is our leadership in community-informed research. Helpful Insights that our research faculty generate from their research projects will make their way to this website. Recently, our Research Office convened a meeting with researchers from across the university. Some subjects now being explored include:
- Changing consumer behaviours influenced by COVID-19 public policy
- Collecting information from consumers and businesses to influence public policy decisions that affect individuals and organizations
- Clarifying the legal aspects of private sector and public sector practices in response to the pandemic
- Leveraging medical knowledge for social benefit
- Exploring new business opportunities related to health care and a possible sustained orientation toward employees working remotely
As a university, TRU also has access to exclusive sources of information from around the world and closer to home—including our membership in the Interior Universities Research Consortium along with UNBC and UBCO—and we will be curating and sharing relevant insights from these sources.
Individual commitments to collective support of Kamloops businesses
Our faculty and staff are also members of the community and we are each committed to supporting local businesses in any and all ways we can, from purchasing food from local restaurants to shopping online at local retailers—and we will continue to emphasize the vital need for local business support by TRU employees through our internal communication channels
Luv’n Kamloops Video Backgrounds
Video conferencing has become one of the main ways people are staying in touch for business or with friends and family. Upload one of these ten backgrounds for your next video chat to generate inspiration for future travel to Kamloops.
BOLD Leadership
As a Destination Management Organization we have a pivotal role to play in communicating information to our potential travellers, industry stakeholders, and our local community. We’ve created a new marketing response strategy and plan that’s continually being updated as we receive new information.
BOLD Podcast Stories
The Luv’n The Loops podcast series is about equipping locals with the tools to share Kamloops’ boldly unscripted stories. In true pivot fashion we are transitioning this segment to consider the impacts of COVID-19 and be YKA STRONG. Tune in weekly as we chat with local organizations and businesses who are being impacted by the pandemic and their strategies to weather this storm. Listen Here
Connect with Venture Kamloops – COVID-19 Business Support
Venture Kamloops is working with our business community to get through the COVID-19 crisis. Schedule a virtual meeting with VK Staff to discuss COVID-19 and your business, learn about government programs, and begin planning for the future & gain access to VK programs.
Start Here: https://www.venturekamloops.com/covid-support
The Latest Business Support Programs
Governments and the private sector are providing a wide-range of supports for businesses in British Columbia affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Government of BC’s guide is updated frequently and you can navigate the most up-to-date information to help you:
COVID-19: Support for Businesses in B.C.
Learning Opportunities & Webinars
- Pivoting Your Business to Support the Government is an interactive Digital Meetup on Wednesday April 22 hosted by Small Business BC.
- Survivor, Seller, or Buyer? The Retail World Post-Crisis offers thought-provoking choices and decisions that you should consider post-crisis, hosted by BDO on Friday April 24.
ADVOCATE: Last week we shared the key findings of our ongoing Pulse Check surveys with local government officials. Read the letters here.
EDUCATE: Virtual Meetups discussing business resilience and recovery have been launched alongside community partners including MNP, Thrive Business Strategies and Community Futures – Thompson Country. Register via our Events Calendar for a FREE session to help you and your business combat COVID-19.
Parking: In the infancy of the pandemic, the city relaxed parking fees throughout the Downtown area. This well-intended initiative has resulted in some unexpected consequences. Longer term on-street parking is not to support employees working Downtown. However, with the relaxation of parking fees, vehicles owned by employees are occupying most of the parking stalls. The challenge is that customers trying to access and support those businesses continuing to operate either take-out/delivery services struggle to locate any short term parking. In response, a few temporary loading zones have recently been installed to support restaurants.
Going forward, we are hoping Downtown businesses can communicate with staff who may be using on street parking as a long term, daily solution, and encourage them to instead use free off-street city parking including the parkades.
Communication: Last week the KCBIA facilitated a webinar, “Tips for Adapting your Business Model in Challenging Times”. This was the first of what will be a series of webinars being introduced to support our business community. We learned a lot in the development and delivery of the webinar, particularly in relation to the technological challenges associated with offering virtual communications. We are committed to identifying solutions to respond those challenges in advance of upcoming webinars
Community Futures Self Employment Services – The Self-Employment program is designed to support clients who would like to start a business and have an idea that is appropriate and based on the local labour market. This is still true during the COVID-19 Pandemic and virtual Self-Employment services are ongoing during the crisis. The program will provide a holistic evaluation of your business concept and our Business Coach will work with you to meet all of the necessary business requirements and provide advice and access to the resources you will require to start your career as an entrepreneur. Eligible clients will receive financial supports for the 48-week duration of the program. Contact Community Futures today to find out more.
Community Futures Continuity Plan – It’s never to late to develop a continuity plan for your business when facing a crisis. Community Futures’ comprehensive emergency and continuity planning document will prepare your business in the face of an emergency or crisis situation. A valuable part of continuity planning is evaluating business opportunities during a crisis. The interactive Business Continuity Plan can be found Here.
COVID-19 Loan Program – CFTC is offering loans to businesses in the Kamloops area that have been affected by the COVID-19 outbreak resulting from Provincial/Federal regulations and associated social distancing. MORE INFO
COVID-19 Business Support Program
CFTC will be providing one to one virtual and phone support to businesses who require assistance to complete Federal and Provincial relief applications. This service is available to all Kamloops and area business owners. Businesses are able to access this service by calling the CFTC office at: 250-828-8772 or email at reception@communityfutures.net.
Kamloops passengers continue to be served by WestJet with 4 x weekly service to Calgary. Passengers are reminded that travel restrictions remain in place for any person showing symptoms of COVID-19. Latest information on travel restrictions can be found at Here.
Limited access to the Air Terminal Building remains available for the travelling public during scheduled flight times and passengers are reminded to observe physical distancing measures when in the facility. The Airport remains fully operational to serve charter, air cargo, medivac and wildfire flight activity.
Kamloops Airport Ltd. along with the Canadian Airports Council, are actively engaging the federal and provincial governments to ensure that Kamloops Airport and its stakeholders are well-represented on relief measures needed to continue delivery of a safe and secure operating environment for our community and business partners.
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