The Rotary Club of Chatham is encouraging citizens to show their support for businesses in Chatham and Thamesville affected by the recent flooding along the Thames River.
The club’s Flood Our Community with Love initiative will take place March 9 and 10 in downtown Chatham and downtown Thamesville.
“Tania, Fannie and I were talking over the weekend about the devastating flood and how Rotary could help. Our own office building was surrounded by flood waters for several days without access,” Alysson Storey, Immediate Past President of the Rotary Club of Chatham, said in a release.
Fannie Vavoulis was President of Chatham Rotary 2015-2016, Storey 2016-17 and Tania Sharpe is current President of the Club.
“We wanted to do something that could be rolled out quickly and easily to help the businesses in both the downtown cores that were affected. Let’s get some people in the doors and money in the tills so these businesses can start to recover from this disaster.”
People are encouraged to plan a visit to downtown businesses in Chatham and Thamesville on Friday and Saturday this week for a meal, a drink or some shopping to help businesses affected by the floods that hit these communities recently.
Many businesses in Chatham that face the river had both basement and main floor damage, including major loss of inventory and property.
In Thamesville, while the flood waters did not reach the downtown as predicted, utilities were shut off to the downtown as a precaution, meaning most businesses were not able to open for several days.
“The citizens of Chatham-Kent are generous people and we have always have each others’ back in a crisis. We likely all know someone who was directly impacted by this flood. Let’s help them get back on their feet by paying these local businesses a visit next weekend,” Storey said.
Local partners and organizations are welcome to help support and raise awareness about this initiative with their own activities or promotions. The Rotary Club of Chatham would also like to note that businesses on Thames Street on the north side of the Thames River in Chatham were also affected in addition to the businesses on King Street. Please consider them for a visit as well.
