Team Pennsylvania’s Response to COVID-19
Dear Team Pennsylvania Partners,
Across the nation and Commonwealth, we are navigating uncharted waters. I want to share with you how Team Pennsylvania is responding to the Coronavirus (COVID-19), and the changes in our operations to keep our team members and partners safe while upholding our mission to support Pennsylvania’s economic vitality.
Yesterday, March 16th, Team Pennsylvania closed our physical office in Harrisburg and transitioned to a remote work arrangement for all of our staff for two weeks. During this time, we will continue to assess the situation and mirror the directives of offices under the Governor’s jurisdiction. We have the technology and infrastructure in place to keep running our operations smoothly while enabling our employees to work outside of the office, which includes phone, email, and project management access.
In addition, we have canceled all Team Pennsylvania events scheduled through March 31st and will be using video and audio-conferencing technology to conduct any necessary meetings to maintain safe social distancing. Business operations will continue during our regular workweek hours via email or phone, but our Harrisburg office remains closed to the public at this time.
This situation is continuously evolving, but we will work diligently to remain a reliable resource for our public and private sector partners. We will continue to monitor and inform you of any additional changes we implement to ensure the safety of our employees and our partners. We will also share any updates through our website and social media outlets (LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook).
We are in constant contact with our public sector partners at the Department of Community and Economic Development. We are working with them, the economic development community, and additional state agencies on communicating about and developing immediate support for our business community. They have asked me to share that currently, they do have the ability to offer working capital loans that could be of assistance to businesses impacted by COVID-19. Resources and information will be posted to dced.pa.gov/resources as they become available. The U.S. Small Business Administration, in addition to local funding partners, may also be a source of assistance for affected businesses. We are working with the SBA to access additional support assistance through their disaster relief programs.
There have been several questions on the Governor’s directives and what is considered essential or non-essential. More information on that is here.
On March 19, 2020, the Governor updated this to declare that all non-life-sustaining businesses must close their physical locations. A list of life-sustaining businesses published by the Governor’s Office is here.
To request a waiver to keep your location open, please complete and submit the form which can be found here.
On March 25, Governor Wolf announced that new funding is available to help small businesses impacted by COVID-19, through a new program under the Pennsylvania Industrial Development Authority’s (PIDA) Small Business First Fund, the COVID-19 Working Capital Access Program (CWCA).
Thank you for your understanding during this challenging time. Should you have any questions or need any additional information, please do not hesitate to contact us at info@teampa.com.
Stay well and be safe.
Best,
Ryan C. Unger
President and CEO, Team Pennsylvania