The Chester County Commissioners have launched RestoreChesterCounty.org, a comprehensive online toolkit that offers guidelines specifically designed for Chester County’s 15,000-plus businesses and 525,000 residents as they move from the red phase to the yellow phase on June 5.

RestoreChesterCounty.org provides direct access to guidelines that are broken down by 20 different business and organization sectors here in Chester County.

Visitors to RestoreChesterCounty.org will immediately be presented with access to a Business & Org Toolkit, as well as Resident Toolkit. The Business & Org Toolkit lists guidelines that span industries, including a checklist for knowing if your business is ready, how to get it to that point, and how to find resources for obtaining personal protective equipment. Business and organizational leaders can then drill deeper by accessing 20 different business and organization sectors, including everything from agriculture and office settings to restaurants, personal care, schools, religious organizations, and more.

Restore Chester County is an initiative launched by the county’s COVID-19 Business Task Force, a collaborative of business, economic, education, and government leaders formed by the Chester County Commissioners last month to focus on reopening and restoring Chester County’s economy affected by COVID-19.

Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry (L&I) Secretary Jerry Oleksiak announced the launch of Pennsylvania’s Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) program to provide an additional 13 weeks of benefits to people who exhaust their regular unemployment compensation (UC).

PEUC is included in the new federal unemployment compensation benefits provided by the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. Pennsylvania has implemented all programs under the new CARES Act and paid out nearly $7.4 billion in total unemployment benefits since mid-March.

Important information about the extended benefits program follows and has also been emailed or mailed via the United States Postal Service to all individuals who potentially qualify for PEUC.

To read the full press release, click here.

Legal Aid of Southeastern PA (LASP) & Phoenixville Public Library are hosting a virtual workshop on Wednesday, May 27^th, at 10am. 

LASP Staff Attorney Deborah Steeves will present an update on Unemployment Compensation/Pandemic Unemployment Assistance and will answer your questions.

Register now for this online workshop: https://bit.ly/2SHyRnC. 

After you register, you will receive a Zoom link through email.

A free Clean Slate and Expungement virtual workshop will be held by Coatesville Center for Community Health on Wednesday, May 13, at 3 pm. 

The Clean Slate and Expungement Workshops are designed to help those individuals with criminal histories who may have been denied employment or other services because of their criminal record.  An attorney from Legal Aid of Southeastern PA will conduct the workshop where participants will learn about the clean slate and expungement process, if they might be eligible, and learn how to proceed.  The attorney will meet individually with each participant to review their criminal record.  

A copy of the criminal record can be obtained at http://ujsportal.pacourts.us/DocketSheets/MDJ.aspx.  

The meeting link will be sent to participants upon registration. To register, email ccch@comcast.net

The Chester County Commissioners and Chester County Economic Development Council (CCEDC) will host a webinar on Thursday, May 7 at 10:00am about the Chester County Main Street Preservation Grant Program.

Chester County’s Commissioners set up a $5M fund to establish the Main Street Preservation grant program – up to $25,000 in funding for county’s small businesses and agriculture enterprises impacted by COVID-19. The competitive grant program will provide funding for small businesses and agricultural enterprises in the county that were unable to take advantage of any federal and commonwealth existing COVID-19 response programs. Grants of up to $25,000 will be available to eligible businesses through the Chester County Main Street Preservation program.

The webinar will cover the the structure of the program, eligibility requirements, and the application process. Questions may be submitted to mainstreet@ccedcpa.com.

Viewing Options:
Registration is not required. The webinar will be live streamed at the following locations:

• Chester County Website
• CCEDC Website
• Facebook Live

Application Checklist

Main Street Program Website

Application Form

Libraries offers many resources and services to help inventors answer many questions: What is the market for my idea? Will I need a patent? How do I promote my idea? The US Patent & Trademark Office provides sites devoted to serving the special needs of inventors. The Lemelson-MIT Invention Dimension site also provides a wealth of inventor resources including inventor profiles, patent guidelines, links to online invention resources, and more.

Library databases, like ReferenceUSA, can be helpful in locating businesses to license or manufacture your product, or to find out how large a market exists for your invention. ReferenceUSA provides detailed information on millions of U.S. companies, organizations, agencies, and households. Search its business module by company name, company executive name, sales volume, SIC/NAICS codes, number of employees, and more.

The library’s ebook collection includes many books about inventors and innovation that you can check out from home with a Chester County Library card.

Take advantage of the Cisco Networking Academy! Available for free through Chester County Library, these online, self-paced courses will help you explore potential career pathways, develop technical mastery, and build critical thinking and problem-solving skills needed to succeed.

Get Connected: Learn how to use a computer, connect devices and access search, email, and social media. This is a self-paced, beginner level course.

Entrepreneurship: This course teaches business and financial skills, attitudes, and behaviors to help students develop an entrepreneurial mindset that can empower them to improve their lives.

Introduction to Cybersecurity: Learn how to protect yourself online and in social media while discovering careers in cybersecurity. This is a self-paced, beginner level course.

Cybersecurity Essentials: Develop an understanding of cybercrime, security principles, technologies, and procedures used to defend networks. This is a self-paced, intermediate level course.

Introduction to IoT (Internet of Things): Learn how the Internet of Things (IoT) and the digital transformation of business create new value and new job opportunities. This is a self-paced, beginner level course.

Introduction to Packet Tracer:  Learn the basics for using Cisco Packet Tracer to simulate network configurations. This is a self-paced, beginner level course.

Packet Tracer Mobile: Learn how to use the Cisco Packet Tracer Mobile software. This is a self-paced, hands-on course.