BUFFALO (WBEN) - "I've been a lot of places in my lifetime, and Buffalo is one of those cities where you instantly feel at home," said Buffalo Bills Cornerback Josh Norman on Tuesday morning. "Witnessing how Buffalonians support each other makes me want to do as much as I can for this City."
During a press conference with Mayor Byron Brown, Norman officially announced an initiative to provide funds to small, Buffalo-area businesses, known as Buffalo Business Blitz.
With $25,000 of his own money, Norman is providing grants of up to $2,500 to small businesses impacted by COVID-19 restrictions this holiday season, and he's also challenging leaders, teammates and Bills Mafia to dig into their wallets and donate to the cause.
"Small businesses have had to limit their hours, have had to close down, and in some cases, have not been able to operate their businesses in the traditional way and are struggling to survive," said Brown. "We know, unfortunately, that businesses in Buffalo, Erie County and across the nation have already failed, and we need to do everything that we can as a community to keep our great small businesses open."
Although Norman has been in Buffalo for less than a year, he has already taken an active role in community outreach, as he and New Orleans Saints linebacker Demario Davis embarked on a five-city tour back in June to discuss issues surrounding police reform and racial injustice.
"These small businesses, when you look around and all of them have closed down due to the COVID, it's pretty gut wrenching," said Norman. "If you look at the City of Buffalo, small businesses are the heartbeat of the city, and when you see them all shut down because of this pandemic, you wonder if they're going to be able to come back, are they going to be able to fight strong? So, this is just a little bit of help that I've been able to start to help them out going forward to get a good foot started in 2021."
"I'm concerned about the small business industry across the United States and more specifically, here in Erie County and Western New York," said AJ Baynes, president of the Amherst Chamber of Commerce. "Small businesses, retailers, small merchants, restaurants - this has been an absolutely brutal and crushing year for small businesses."
One of the initiatives Baynes hopes residents take advantage of is the Shop 716 eGift Card Program, which he is hoping generates roughly $1 million in revenue for local businesses.
Of course, small business owner are also imploring holiday shoppers to purchase local this season as opposed to the big box stores.
"It does matter who you shop with," said TreeHouse Toy Store Owner Gaetana Schueckler. "Who you connect with today, who you support today, that's going to be the businesses that you're able to connect with and support tomorrow."
