By Mary Helen Montgomery
Over the last month, our society has become even more dependent on the internet to stay in touch with others and get important information — that’s why The Enterprise Center has been working with restaurants and faith-based organizations to make sure they can use the web to stay in meaningful contact with customers and members.
Working with Proof Bar and Incubator, The Enterprise Center co-hosted a webinar for restaurant owners to learn how to make sure companies’ current offerings under social distancing are reflected on the web. Local developer John Cotton led the webinar, which focused on updating websites, social media, Google business pages, Yelp, and Facebook pages to include information about new hours, and takeout and gift card offerings.
We’ve led a similar effort with the faith community, to make sure that organizations can communicate with their members online. Working with leaders, we hosted a webinar focused on live streaming sermons and collecting online donations. We’ve also had the opportunity to donate tablets and hotspots to several leaders who plan to use them to live stream messages to members. For both the restaurant and faith communities, we have been able to pair technically-skilled volunteers to work one-on-one with individuals who need help.
Our hope is that if these bedrock institutions of our community can communicate well with the public, they will remain viable organizations that continue to be an important part of life in Chattanooga.