Local business owner helps others following looting, vandalism

PHILADELPHIA - A local business owner who had his own businesses looted during the unrest throughout the city is reinvesting in the community and helping others.

Conversations about the path to progress following the George Floyd killing often require people to look past their individual emotional responses and try to figure out how to work towards a common good.

“I know in the two stores that got hit, Fox St. and Parkside, those are two communities that really rely on us. The first thing I was wondering was what do I do to help my customers,” Jeff Brown told FOX 29.

Several of Brown’s stores were trashed when some protesters began looting.

“I know people may think I was worried about money or the damage but it really didn’t resonate with me as being a significant issue. The issue was, how do I continue to help people who rely on me,” he said.

It was at these worst moments that he was inspired to double down on his commitment.

“A lot of small businesses in this area, they’re different than other businesses, they may not have accountants and lawyers, they may not have a separate bank account they may not have separate tax returns, they may have been formerly incarcerated, so a lot of those things prevent you from getting assistance from the government,” Brown said.

He knew that many small and minority owned businesses and neighbors to his stores would face huge obstacles to rebuild and he also knew he may be able to help. 

That’s where the PA 30 Day Fund comes in, which gives 125 forgivable loans of several thousand dollars for businesses in need without jumping through the usual hoops.

“So far, we’ve received about 1000 applications and we’ve funded 125 so far,” said Brown.

It’s hard to believe that it hasn’t even been two weeks since we’ve watched communities become devastated over police brutality. But in that short period of time, there have been numerous examples of people taking what some thought were huge gaps and instead beginning to build bridges.

“I’d like us to move forward, I think it’s a time to move forward to address structural problems in this country in Philadelphia that have always been unfair and try to make this the place we want it to be,” said Brown.

Healing comes from talking about working together and then actually doing it — for goodness sake.

We want to hear from you. Tell us about a hero you know using the hashtag #FOX29Heroes or #ForGoodnesSake.

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