Hospitality Relief Fund

Every year, the Visit Champaign County Foundation hosts Toast to Tourism, celebrating people in the hospitality industry who make our community so outside of ordinary.  Due to COVID-19, this year’s event scheduled for May 13, 2020 at the Virginia Theatre has been cancelled. 

 

In lieu of the expenses associated with this annual celebration, the Visit Champaign County Foundation Board, in conjunction with the Visit Champaign County Board, have created a Hospitality Relief Fund to provide direct financial support for individuals who have immediately formerly worked in the greater Champaign County area as housekeepers, caterers, cooks, front desk staff or anywhere in our hotel partner operations.

 

As COVID-19 imposes a significant impact on the vitality of the hospitality industry, hotels worldwide, including in our community, have faced stark declines in occupancy with travel coming to a halt.  Locally our hotels are closed or down to skeletal crews, with over 500 lost jobs as a result of lost business.

 

The Visit Champaign County Foundation Hospitality Relief Fund will provide a $250 award to a displaced staff member at each of our current Hotel Partners. Nominations will come from the hotel General Managers at each property.  Funding is provided through private organizational or individual donations to the Visit Champaign County Foundation lead by efforts from the VCCF and VCC Board members themselves. .

 

Additional donations are encouraged from the community, so we can offer additional financial support to our neighbors, who work on our behalf to welcome visitors from around the world.  Donations are currently being accepted through PayPal. Those wishing to donate gift cards to local businesses can send them to Visit Champaign County, ATTN: Hospitality Relief Fund, 17 E. Taylor St., Champaign IL 61820.