In order to stay open and rebound amid the pandemic, local businesses must take safety seriously.
The city of Tempe's Economic Development Department decided to give away some supplies they believe could help support those local establishments while volunteers with the Tempe Chamber of Commerce are helping make the special delivery happen.
If Andrea Fox could fill her car from the floor to the ceiling with bags of supplies, she would.
For now, the Rebound Arizona met her near McClintock Drive and Warner Road as she was given more than a dozen bags to drop off in the area.
"Us small business owners, we have to support each other," Fox said. "We have to be there. We have to do what we can, when we can."
Fox is a small business owner herself in Tempe. She gave up her time to give back and pass out the bags with 50 reusable masks and large bottles of hand sanitizer.
Fox owns Beauty by Andrea, LLC and has been a hairstylist for over a decade.
"That smile at the end of the service, which is a little hard to see these days... is pretty much everything," Fox said.
She closed for five weeks during the pandemic. Then, when she could come back to work, she was shocked to find out all the safety items she needed to re-open were off store shelves.
"When they did start to come back out, they were incredibly over-priced and it was one of those things, where I was like, 'Well, I have to get out there. I have to start making an income again and we're going to figure it out,'" Fox explained. "So, it was a lot. It was a lot."
After all of that, when Fox received her own bag from the city of Tempe, it was a comfort amid the chaos.
"It's kind of hard to put into words," Fox said. "It was just relief."
With the items inside the bags totaling around $200, this could ease some stress these small businesses are likely feeling.
It is an honor for Fox to be the one to offer some support.
"Us small business owners, we do it because it's a dream... it's only something we can hope to succeed in and then when you get things like this to come our way, we need to just be strong together," Fox said.
Supplies are limited, but if you are a small business owner who would like to request some support - email Jill_Buschbacher@tempe.gov