On Wednesday afternoon Stephen Chychota and the Dauphin Chamber of Commerce gave out over 1300 sealed envelopes containing gift cards to local businesses, totalling over $25,000.
Chychota says that the Chamber started buying gift cards for the COVID relief event all the way back in December of 2020 when they secured funding from the Manitoba Chamber of Commerce.
"It's been something that's been in the works for a few months now,"
The Chamber put $10,000 into the program, which then was matched by the city of Dauphin, and met with an additional $5,000 from the community fund—totalling the $25,000 available.
This program wasn't just for the city of Dauphin. The Chamber reached out to Gilbert Plains, Winnipegosis, and St Rose to help support businesses that COVID has impacted.
"The idea of this program is that it carries on. Hopefully, people spend more than the face value of the card. Overall the 25,000 investment could mean 50,000 or 80,000 across the whole."
Chychota and the Chamber have plans to continue giving back to the community as additional funding streams have recently opened from the Manitoba chamber, which means federal dollars can be applied for.
Chychota couldn't comment on these plans as the details still need to be ironed out. However, he did say it will be community-based across the region.
