It’s a challenging time for everyone these days.  With governments telling people to stay home and practice social distancing, we’re seeing big hits to the economy, local businesses and families.  As businesses, we see the traffic dwindling to our stores, people are not dining at our restaurants, and many are forced to have cutbacks or close altogether.  With schools shutting down, many young children in lower income families are missing two meals a day. Employees may be experiencing fewer or even no hours and are unable to now pay their bills.  Seniors, who are at a higher risk of the coronavirus, are left without the essentials. As bleak as this all may seem, this is an opportunity for doing good, to express our humanity and give back.

Public Advertising Agency is very proud to work with some partners that are doing just that.  Taking a difficult situation and trying to help their employees and others. We hope that by sharing this, we can inspire others to do the same.  

Riverside Convention Center

We remember the first call we got from the Riverside Convention Center after it was announced that people should avoid gatherings of more than 250 people.  Events started canceling and suddenly it felt as if all their hard work for the quarter had crumbled. Panic began to set in as they furiously tried to recoup the loses they were experiencing.

But something amazing happened.  Raincross Hospitality Corporation, the parent company of Riverside Convention Center, decided that if they couldn’t provide the meeting and event spaces, they could at least do something.  How could they keep their staff employed, make use of their space and help the community?  

Riverside Convention Center Cares

When you have the chance to make a difference, you take it.  Raincross saw the opportunity to help their employees and the community by providing a service and so they came up with Riverside Convention Center Cares.  They could store food items and essentials at their location, use their employees to take and fulfill orders and provide discounted groceries to those that need it.  And they aren’t just doing this as something to get by. They are throwing resources at it to make sure it really takes off and to provide as much good as they can.

Mister A’s Restaurant

Mister A’s is an upscale restaurant in the heart of San Diego.  With stunning views and even better food, it is considered one of the best restaurants in the country.  With business clientele, being considered a luxury and without delivery service, the decision to shut down the restaurant was a difficult but obvious course of action. But this meant that their employees would suffer.

Incentivize Sales With A Cause

Unfortunately, a business with no revenue cannot continue to pay the whole salary of their employees.  So how can you help your staff while supporting the restaurant? Gift cards are one of the driving sources of revenue for the restaurant – for birthdays, graduations, and all sorts of celebrations.  The restaurant will open again and that means gift cards will continue to be sold. And that means a unique opportunity for both situations. Mister A’s has decided that 50% of all gift cards sold during the shutdown will be paid to their staff.

If you’re looking for a unique dining experience when this all blows over, consider a gift card from Mister A’s.  You’ll support the hard working wait and kitchen staff that already do a tremendous job and you’ll get one heck of a meal.

Wondering what you can do during the pandemic?  We’ve put together some useful tips and resources to help get your through. https://publicadagency.com/business-as-usual/