A new website aimed at keeping residents up to date on local businesses is online, with information on hyper local services. A recent blog entry, for example, is called “Where to find a facemask in Forest Park.”
The website is forestparkstrong.com, the recently debuted offering from the Forest Park Chamber of Commerce.
According to Christine Barnard, the chamber’s community outreach director, the new website “is one place the community can go to stay up to date with our local businesses.”
Although the chamber has an active Facebook page, having one repository for information that’s accessible to everyone, even those who don’t use Facebook, is important. And these days, with COVID-19 related laws and ordinances changing regularly and businesses adapting quickly, having a central platform is a good way to keep people informed.
“This information changes quickly so we needed a better way to keep the information as current as possible,” said Barnard.
The chamber chose Forest Park Strong as the URL, a phrase and hashtag that’s been central to the community coming together recently in reaction to the pandemic.
“It’s named Forest Park Strong because ‘strong’ embodies everything that is Forest Park: strong, together, resilient, open, neighborly and giving,” said Barnard. “Over the coming weeks and months, we will continue to provide regular updates on our businesses, how best to support them and the cool things they are up to.”
The website has blog postings on relevant topics, such as where to find masks locally. Another section of the website features updates from businesses, broken down into retail, restaurants, and services, such as wellness.
News includes information from the village and the Forest Park Review, as well as updates from the park district and other village organizations.
A shopping link allows viewers to purchase branded products, such as pint glasses or yard signs.
And the support section of the website provides information on how residents can help businesses, and how businesses can support each other. It includes current fundraising programs and community resources.
Learn more at forestparkstrong.com.
