Things You Can Do To Help Tahoe Right Now
Countries across the globe have been affected by the COVID-19 outbreak and subsequent shutdown, and those impacts have certainly been felt locally here in North Lake Tahoe. According to the Tahoe Forest Health System, 62 cases of COVID-19 have been reported by our local hospital as of early June 2020, with one local fatality due to the virus.
In addition to that, as a tourism-driven economy, businesses across the Tahoe Basin are struggling to cope with severe impacts on their bottom line, due to a lack of travelers and a statewide stay-at-home order due to the virus. Everything from restaurants to hotels to shops to guiding outfitters to ski resorts were forced to close for an extended period of time. The North Lake Tahoe Resort Association is estimating a 20 to 30 percent decrease in tourism dollars to the Tahoe area.
At the same time, the community has bonded together to help one another during this crisis, and businesses and individuals have come up with creative ideas to get through this challenging period in one piece. “Stronger Together” is the tagline in North Lake Tahoe right now—and it’s true. We’ll all be better off if we work collectively.
For now, there are still ways you can support North Lake Tahoe—even from afar.
- Buy a Gift Card
You can buy gift cards to support your favorite local businesses. Any amount helps. For example, loyal customers helped support Alpenglow Sports, a favorite gear and mountain shop, by purchasing $75,000 worth of gift certificates in four days. “The impacts of this pandemic will be far-reaching for months to come,” Jeffrey Hentz, CEO of the North Lake Tahoe Resort Association. “To support local businesses reliant on tourism, we are asking people who hold North Lake Tahoe close to their hearts to consider making donations, purchase gift cards or go to online e-commerce sites, or write words of encouragement on small business social pages.”
- Help With Emergency Relief in the Area
You can help out with local emergency response efforts in the Truckee-Tahoe area. See this guide to donating to local relief efforts, including local businesses with GoFundMe campaigns for their employees, organizations helping with community housing or delivering food to seniors, and a food truck that’s cooking meals for front-line workers.
- Support Your Favorite Local Business
The local movie theater in Tahoe City, the Tahoe Art Haus, which has been shut down during COVID-19, began screening virtual movies and making plans for a drive-in movie theater. So, even if you’re far from Tahoe, you can support the local theater by enjoying a movie through them online from the comfort of your own couch. If you are in Tahoe already, many restaurants in the area have been offering take-out and delivery options, and many are now open for varying levels of dine-in service. Some restaurants have gotten creative with their services during this, too. For example, the Pioneer Cocktail Club in Tahoe City began offering grocery delivery and take-out cocktails.
- Plan Your Trip for the Future
“Equally important is that you not cancel your trip completely, but rather postpone to a time when travel is viable again,” said Hentz. Many lodging options in the area are accepting reservations for the future. You can book guided adventures for the months ahead—like, say, a sailboat cruise on the lake, a climb on the Via Ferrata at Squaw Valley, or a guided tour of local craft breweries. Consider purchasing a gift card to your favorite day spa or paddleboard rental outfitter or start thinking of other fun things you’d like to do when the time is right.
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