‘Small business is kind of the backbone of our economy’; Power Image starts St. George Strong fundraiser

St. George strong logo | Photo courtesy of Power Image, St. George News

ST. GEORGE — In an effort to give back to local businesses in Southern Utah, Power Image has started the St. George Strong fundraiser. The fundraiser is selling T-shirts with generic St. George Strong logos, as well as shirts specific to certain local businesses.

The St. George Strong web store has been setup with about 40 local companies involved. Some businesses have their own logo on the shirts, while some have a logo combined with the St. George Strong logo.

The shirts cost $20, with $10 going to the chosen business and $10 going to Power Image to print the shirts. The money spent on the St. George Strong items will be divided between the businesses who are participating.

Andrew Lovell, one of the owners of Power Image screen printing and embroidery, said that the fundraiser has two missions.

“One is to support, promote and raise funds for local businesses that are affected by COVID-19, and the second part is to have a community rallying point and a cause to stand behind,” Lovell said.

St. George Strong logo T-shirt | Photo courtesy of Power Image, St. George News

The fundraiser has been going on for less then two weeks and has raised almost $3,000 in funds for local businesses, according to the website. Lovell said the fundraiser will likely be extended as a result of new companies getting involved.

The idea was sparked when Power Image saw a business doing a similar fundraiser in St. Louis.

“It was kind of the same idea of a fundraiser to sell T-shirts,” Lovell said. “We looked at that and thought how we could put our own St. George spin on it. We came up with the St. George Strong thing, came up with a logo for it and went out and got the domain that was available.”

There is a wide variety of businesses being represented on the web store, ranging from Teriyaki Madness to Crossfit St. George.

“I think the variety shows that this is impacting everybody,” Lovell said. “There might be a few little businesses out there that don’t really feel an impact from it, but most of us are struggling with that. One thing from our standpoint is that we totally empathize with it because our business is usually fairly event- and school-driven. When we see these other small businesses that are in the same boat, we know what they are going through and it’s something where we can all be in it together and figure out how to help each other out.”

Lovell said that the fundraiser has become less of a business venture and more of a labor of love.

“In St. George, almost everything is small business,” Lovell said of the various businesses involved. “Yes, you have the college, you’ve got some government stuff, you’ve got a couple businesses that have started to grow, but St. George is really almost all small business. That variety you see is representative of the fact that small business is kind of the backbone of our economy.”

Visit the St. George Strong web store here.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2020, all rights reserved.

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