Christine ThomasosAs black communities continue to struggle physically and financially from the impact of COVID-19, a number of black businesses are going above and beyond to help lessen the blow.
Check out some black businesses that are helping their communities being hit hardest by the coronavirus.
Shea Moisture
Shea Moisture is known for being a leader in natural hair and skincare products while also focusing on philanthropy. During the coronavirus pandemic, this company is helping other businesses rise to the occasion to meet community needs.
In a new initiative, Shea Moisture is giving away $1 million dollars to businesses that are helping others in their community.
“SheaMoisture will award minority-owned businesses that are finding creative ways to support their communities through COVID19,” the website states, describing the initiative. “If you are a business who has a social impact mission and are doing something to support your community at this time. We want to hear from you!”
For more information, check out www.sheamoisture.com.
Aloha Glamour
An African clothing boutique owner decided to pivot from her normal product lineup when she discovered that there was a need for face masks. Alexis Williams, the founder of the Gulfport, Mississippi boutique called Aloha Glamour, decided to create fashionable masks that could also help stop the spread of COVID-19.
In a recent interview with The Miami Times, she spoke about the idea behind her masks.
“My masks are 100% cotton, reversible, reusable and machine washable. My masks are not meant to replace surgical masks, but it is a contingency plan for those who don’t have the ability to get surgical masks because of the shortage,” she said. “It is not medical-rated, but it is good enough to filter our hazardous particles and bad smells. The response to it has been overwhelming and we want to do anything we can to help out.”
For more information, visit alohaglamour.shopz
ILERA Apothecary
Hand sanitizer is hard to come by these days which is why vegan beauty company owner Chinonye Akunne decided to do something about it. Her company ILERA Apothecary was already selling a number of skincare and beauty products.
Once she recognized that there was not enough hand sanitizer to meet people’s needs, Akunne’s company developed its own with many of the ingredients already being used for other products. Aside from solely profiting from the product, ILERA Apothecary has also been partnering with another company called the York Project to meet the needs of people.
“For a few years now, the York Project has been giving sanitary items such as toilet paper, socks, sometimes hats and gloves to the homeless. I saw that they were making masks. And I contacted the owner, who’s also a friend of mine,” she told Black Enterprise. “They’ll be making 250 masks so we’ll be also matching them with 250 hand sanitizers.”
According to Akunne, these philanthropic efforts are about more than just helping others, but also creating a better business model.
“This is not the end of time. This is the time to really stay balanced, be present, and be more community-oriented,” she said. “During this time, we have been able to increase our giving effort. So I will say that this period of slowness has helped us to be a better business overall.”
For more information, visit https://ileraapothecary.com
Do you or someone you know have a black-owned business that is contributing to COVID-19 relief efforts? Let us know so that we can feature your business on Nu Origins!
