Giving back to neighbors hit hardest by the pandemic

There’s no doubt Anchorage has been hit hard by the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic. Downtown streets are empty, restaurants are shuttering for the season or permanently, hotels face high vacancy rates, and many retail shops are barely hanging on. Pandemics particularly affect areas like Anchorage which rely on tourism and visitors to stay afloat. Unfortunately, the brunt of that impact is borne by frontline workers who have lost employment or worse — those who have gotten sick with COVID-19. Add the almost 20 hours of darkness each day in Anchorage in winter, and the isolation faced by many quarantining and working remotely, and the stress and burden during these times climbs even higher for our community.

But we also hold the power to band together with Alaska resiliency, determination and grit to emerge from the darkness as we’ve done before. Anchorage was built on the idea that businesses and families thrive when neighbors help neighbors. Our city would not have recovered from the largest earthquake ever to hit the U.S., or the collapse of oil prices in the mid-1980s, if we didn’t band together in tough times. It’s partially a matter of necessity as we are geographically separated from the rest of the country living in a place of extremes, but our tenacity also comes from understanding the strength of our collective spirit.

One of the hardest-hit industries is the hospitality industry. Statewide, the industry lost 13,800 jobs in one year. That number doesn’t capture the employees who remain on staff, but with fewer hours and continuous uncertainty if their job will be the next one cut. Anchorage Downtown Partnership, Ltd. (ADP), Alaska Caberet, Hotel, Restaurant, & Retailers Association (CHARR), Alaska Hospitality Retailers (AKHR), and the Brewer’s Guild of Alaska (BGA) have seen these impacts firsthand. Many of their members have boarded up shop and expressed the desperation and hopelessness that echoes around the future.

Many of these workers are facing the fast-approaching holidays strained financially and without the spare cash to buy gifts for their children. In order to support our hospitality workers and their families, ADP, CHARR, AKHR, and BGA are banding together to provide the resources for hospitality industry workers to buy holiday gifts for their kids, generously sponsored by local business donors and the Municipality of Anchorage. Each worker can apply for a $25 gift card for each child, to be used at different locally-owned and operated businesses. Apply at AnchorageDowntown.org and gift cards will be mailed directly. These dollars will then continue to circulate in our community, helping hard-hit local businesses while providing a token of hope for our hospitality workers and families.

Anchorage is a persevering community that comes together when times get tough. As we close out 2020, it is more important than ever that we take care of our neighbors. Soon the light will return and we can move into 2021 with normalcy on the way. But in the meantime, we need to find the light in each other and show kindness to those among us who are struggling. There is no obstacle we cannot overcome if we pool our collective strength. This holiday season find a way to unite with your community and remember we are all in this together.

Amanda Moser is executive director of Anchorage Downtown Partnership. Sarah Oates is president of Alaska CHARR. Lee Ellis is the president of Brewers Guild of Alaska. Silvia Villamedes is executive director of Alaska Hospitality Retailers.

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