County firms sign up to online help forum - The Worcester Observer

County firms sign up to online help forum

Worcester Editorial 18th Mar, 2020   0

A BOLD bid to offer support to businesses across Worcestershire affected by the Coronavirus crisis has attracted more than 400 members in its first 24 hours of operation.

Worcester-based company The Christmas Decorators have set up an online support group to help fellow businesses deal with the impact of the virus on everyday life which has seen sporting events decimated and public events axed.

The Facebook group entitled ‘Businesses Beat Corona’ was set up on Monday (March 16) to enable businesses to help and support each other buy sharing information, advice and encouragement.

Husband and wife team Paul and Ali Chester said the information already shared by businesses ranges from HR support and legal advice to tech support and insurance guidance.




There have also been many valuable words of encouragement for each other as the business community has once again come to together during tough times.

“We pride ourselves on being a small, family business and wanted to do what we could to support other businesses. We know that there is a lot of knowledge out there that would help everyone during these uncertain times and we thought it would help if it was all in one place,” Paul said.


“We know everyone is concerned from a personal point of view but there are many questions in the business community that remain unanswered and by sharing knowledge and expertise, we can support each other.

“It has also been lovely to see the words of support and encouragement that people have been giving to one another.”

The bid to offer support came as dozens of businesses across the city were faced with the decision whether or not to postpone events or close down following the Government’s decision to axe support for mass gatherings in a bid to contain the virus.

This year’s Best of Worcester Awards have been cancelled from April 2 to September 14 due to the outbreak while Worcester City Council has cancelled several upcoming meetings up to and including the scheduled council meeting which was due to take place on Tuesday (March 24).

Worcester’s VUE Cinema was among the businesses to close its doors until further notice on Tuesday despite cinema chiefs best efforts to keep its 91 venues nationwide open for business.

Tim Richards, founder and CEO of Vue International said: “We want to wish all our customers and employees well during these difficult times. Thank you for your continued support and we look forward to welcoming you back at one of our cinemas soon.”

Visit www.facebook.com and search ‘Businesses Beat Corona’ for more.

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