Wednesday, September 30 and Thursday, October 1 from 8:00 AM to 11:00 AM at Ocean Gateway in Portland

In an effort to aid the small business community, the City of Portland is pleased to offer free personal protective equipment (PPE) supplies to small Portland businesses (30 or fewer employees) that physically interact with the public on a daily basis. As we continue to live within a pandemic, PPE (disposable masks, hand sanitizer, and surface disinfectant) is crucial for maintaining safe business operations. It is, however, impacting the budgets of small businesses when many are facing financial challenges.

If a business is interested in picking up some free supplies, it is invited to send an email as soon as possible with the business’ name, physical address, and number of employees to the City’s Economic Development Department at [email protected]. Details for pick-up will then be provided to those businesses that submit an email to the Economic Development Department. That email response will be the business’ coupon for the free supplies.

For as long as they last, the PPE available to each business will include up to:

 

  • Four boxes of disposable masks (50 masks/box);

  • One hands-free dispenser for hand sanitizer (requires 4 C batteries);

  • One gallon of hand sanitizer gel for filling and refilling the dispenser; and,

  • Three quarts of high quality surface disinfectant.

 

In addition, at the supply pickup site samples of indoor social screens (two layers of material) that are 8’wide x 6’tall and 8’wide x 8’tall, will be on view. Any restaurants interested in using these in their dining rooms to potentially enhance the comfort of diners can sign up to receive a free screen in a color and size of their choosing. The City will be giving away 20 free screens, one per restaurant or other business that feels this structure would help to increase the feeling of safety of their customers.

The distribution of supplies is part of a new campaign launched the City to remind people to ‘Stay the Course’ to prevent further COVID-19 spread. Residents, businesses, and visitors to Portland are encouraged to visit staythecourse.me for information related to the four pillars of keeping Portland healthy — washing hands, wearing a mask, physical distancing, and avoiding large gatherings — as well as information on where to get tested, latest updates from the City and City Hall services, FAQs, and downloadable resources for businesses and other organizations to use.

The goal of the campaign is to encourage people to keep doing what is necessary to prevent the spread of COVID-19 at a time when some may be getting fatigued, but compliance is just as important, if not more, as we head into cold and flu season. The campaign is made possible by funds the City received through the State of Maine’s Keep Maine Healthy grant. Portland thanks the State of Maine for making this campaign possible, as well as the ability to provide these free supplies in order to soften the impact on tight budgets during the COVID-19 pandemic.