Hospitality Relief Fund

In lieu of the expenses associated with the Visit Champaign County Foundation's annual Toast to Tourism celebration, the Visit Champaign County Foundation Board, in conjunction with the Visit Champaign County Board, 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.

Over $12,000 was raised thanks to matching funds from the Champaign-Urbana Hotel Lodging Association (CUHLA) to provide financial assistance to 42 displaced employees at each of our current Hotel Partners. Nominations were received from the hotel General Managers at each property.  Funding was provided through private organizational or individual donations to the Visit Champaign County Foundation lead by efforts from the VCCF and VCC Board members themselves.

As COVID-19 continues to impose 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.