King County to provide Safe Start kits to small businesses in July

Federal Way Chamber of Commerce to host pick up from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday, July 16 at El Centro de la Raza in Federal Way.

Throughout July, small businesses in the King County area can pick up a Safe Start kit at their city’s chamber of commerce.

In partnership with King County, Chambers in the region are providing kits designed to keep employees healthy and safe, according to a recent news release from the Federal Way Chamber of Commerce.

Each kit includes cloth face coverings, disposable masks and hand sanitizer.

The Federal Way Chamber of Commerce will host in-person, contactless pickup of the free small business kits from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. July 16 at El Centro de la Raza, 1607 South 341st Place, Federal Way.

“With our unique location in King County, Federal Way is able to reach not only the robust business base within the city, but also businesses located in unincorporated King County,” said Chamber CEO Rebecca Martin. “The economic mix of companies in the greater Federal Way area contribute to the vibrancy of the region, and helping to keep our workforce safe is critically important.”

Safe Start Kits are available based on business size.

Companies of 1-20 employees receive 50 cloth face coverings (white, three-ply with nose piece), 150 disposable masks and four bottles hand sanitizer. Companies of 20-plus employees receive 100 cloth face coverings (white, three-ply with nose piece), 300 disposable masks and eight bottles hand sanitizer.

“The Chamber is pleased to be able to partner with King County on the Safe Start program as we work with all of our community stakeholders to help safeguard the people who keep our businesses running,” Martin said.

To participate in the pickup program, Federal Way businesses must sign up online for the kits at fedwaychamber.com/supplykits.

Businesses will receive an email from the Safe Start program to choose a 15-minute window for pickup at El Centro de la Raza’s Federal Way offices.

As a community partner, Amazon is providing Treasure Trucks to help with in-person distribution and packing of the kits.

“El Centro de la Raza works on a daily basis to support and grow small business in the Latino community,” said Estela Ortega, executive director of El Centro de la Raza. “Small businesses play an important role in contributing and strengthening the local economy, and all these businesses unfortunately have been hit hard by the pandemic. … We are happy to partner with the Federal Way Chamber and King County to open our location for the distribution of the kits.”

King County small businesses also may choose to have their kits shipped directly to them. The shipping options include a charge of $15-$20 for either small or large kits, based on company size. Hand sanitizer is not available for shipping.

Information on economic recovery and business resources related to COVID-19 are online at fedwaychamber.com/coronavirus.

Small Business Safe Start Kits will be distributed to businesses across King County from July 1-24. Information on the county program is available at safestartkingcounty.com.