July 23, 2020 – The County of Nevada Office of Emergency Services (OES) is offering local small businesses and non-profits with 25 or less employees a 30-day supply of masks and hand sanitizer for each employee at no cost.

On July 28, 29, and 30, Eastern Nevada County businesses and organizations can pick up their no-cost Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) at the Truckee Rodeo Grounds from 8am-1pm.

Small businesses and non-profit organizations with less than 25 employees are eligible for the no-cost PPE. To request PPE, small business owners must complete an online application in advance to expedite the processing and distribution of the PPE. Please use this link to sign up: https://bit.ly/SmallBusinessPPETruckee.

Five pallets of materials have been delivered into Truckee for the distribution, including over 100,000 masks and 860 gallons of hand sanitizer. Distribution site and volunteer coordinator, Courtney Henderson, said that, “We need to be doing everything we can to prioritize the health of our local businesses and organizations, including keeping their employees safe and healthy and minimizing the spread of Covid-19. This program is critical to achieving all of those goals. We hope that any local business or organization that has less than 25 employees will come out and pick up their no-cost PPE.”

Those picking up their no-cost PPE will also receive an information packet, with Covid-19 mitigation best practices, business and social services information, and Census completion flyers.

The program is intended to reach small local businesses and organizations, with a particular focus on hard-to- reach businesses and non-profits. At this time, public schools, hospitals, grocery stores, and manufacturers are ineligible for the program because these institutions are served by other programs that offer PPE.

The PPE is being provided from the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services and being distributed as a partnership between the County of Nevada, Town of Truckee, Sierra Business Council, Tahoe Truckee Community Foundation, Truckee Chamber of Commerce, Truckee Downtown Merchants Association, the Truckee Welcome Center, Truckee Tahoe Airport, and Truckee-Donner Recreation & Park District.