'Dollars For Doylestown' Effort Launched To Help Local Businesses

DOYLESTOWN, PA — A Doylestown marketing agency has launched a "Dollars for Doylestown" initiative in support of local businesses during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Sagefrog Marketing Group announced the effort, saying it has purchased $500 e-gift cards, serving as cash advances, from several local eateries and merchants including Empanada Mama, Nourish, and Native Café.

“Helping businesses that Sagefrog has supported over the years’ is a small gesture that we hope will help these businesses sustain traction, and will inspire others to do the same,” said CEO and Co-founder of Sagefrog, Mark Schmukler. “This pandemic is an opportunity for people and companies to step up however they can with empathy and urgency to support their community…even small gestures in times like these make a difference.”

Sagefrog said it hopes others who can will participate in the Dollars for Doylestown effort. Many Doylestown businesses are featured on GiveandGetLocal.com, where there's the ability to purchase e-gift cards in denominations ranging from $50 to $500 or for a custom amount.

To raise awareness of this initiative and increase support for local businesses, the hashtag #DollarsforDoylestown has been established on social media.

“We’re appreciative of Sagefrog’s support during this time,” said Jay Sullivan, owner of Native Café located on S. Main Street. “As a new business especially, every bit helps. We hope this initiative will catch on and local businesses will prevail through the support of our community.”

Many local businesses deemed "non essential" were forced to shut their doors nearly a month ago as part of Gov. Tom Wolf's virus mitigation strategy. While there is currently no clear timeline for when businesses can reopen, Pennsylvania on Monday announced it has joined a regional task force to plan for a safe reopening amid the pandemic.

Pennsylvania will join New York, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Delaware, and Connecticut to plan for a regional reopening strategy. The task force is led by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, whose state has the most COVID-19 deaths of any in the nation.

In the meantime, many local businesses are offering take-out or curbside delivery services. Patch has compiled this guide to what's open and closed in Doylestown during the coronavirus shutdowns.

As of Monday, Pennsylvania has 24,199 coronavirus cases and the statewide COVID-19 death toll is 524.

>>>Full coverage of coronavirus in Pennsylvania