The West Seneca Chamber of Commerce will hold a March Membership Drive to “Recharge the Chamber” and has set an aggressive goal to sign up 31 new Chamber members in 31 days!
“The ongoing pandemic has been a huge drain on everyone — businesses, organizations, government and residents,” said Joe Kirchmyer, executive director of the West Seneca Chamber of Commerce. “While we’ve made incredible changes over the past year to help both members and nonmembers, as well as our community as a whole, we are going to take a moment during March to ‘Recharge the Chamber’ and strengthen our own foundation.”
An independent business organization, the West Seneca Chamber of Commerce is a 501c6 nonprofit, with most of its operating capital generated through memberships, fundraising events and sponsorships. Due to the ongoing pandemic, the organization has been hit pretty hard in all three areas. Fortunately, the Chamber was and still is in excellent financial shape, even with a slight downturn in membership and a loss of event and sponsorship revenue.
Chamber members have benefitted from a number of Covid-related support programs, including offering grants to 25 members in need, a campaign challenging some of the arbitrary application of regulations which were detrimental to small businesses locally, and ongoing communication of new governmental programs and opportunities to help members get through these challenging times. This is why membership is of crucial value for every business owner in West Seneca and surrounding communities.
“When Covid forced the closure of local businesses, we immediately reacted,” Kirchmyer added. “We created new business initiatives such as our Chamber Cares Grant Program; outdoor Walk & Talk events to achieve networking; new Shop, Eat & Play Local initiatives; and more free webinars on a wide variety of important business topics through our partnership with the Better Business Bureau of Upstate New York. We are very proud of how we transitioned to better assist both members and nonmembers through this difficult period.
“In December we added several activities to create some much-needed holiday spirit and raise funds for local nonprofit organizations as well. In January, we ran a very successful Community Food Drive to replenish food pantries in West Seneca and neighboring communities that came to us for help. And in February, we stepped up to sponsor three ConnectLife blood drives to help ensure an adequate blood supply right here in Western New York.”
Now, Kirchmyer is hoping that the community will join the Chamber in their ongoing effort to grow and support West Seneca and neighboring communities. Any new member joining the Chamber from Jan. 1 to March 31 of this year will be entered into a raffle to win weekly prizes during March, including Chamber Discount Cards, West Seneca lanterns and coasters, Buffalo cutting boards, an Amazon Echo Dot and more!
Chamber membership is very inexpensive and is open to businesses, nonprofit organizations, individuals and retirees in West Seneca and beyond. Information about the organization can be found on westseneca.org and on the Chamber’s social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn). For additional information, please stop by the Chamber office in the West Seneca Community Center & Library at 1300 Union Road from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday or call 674-4900.
