Amidst the uncertainty during the global pandemic, owner and designer Markie Tuckett of Timber + Plumb decided to create her own small business grant for local entrepreneurs to apply for. It was a really tough and uncertain time for business owners as most of us know and instead of sitting back and waiting for things to fizzle out, Markie took it upon herself to do what she could to help the small business owners that needed a “hypothetical push” to keep moving forward with their big business dreams. She created a grant that not only had a cash prize for the winner to use towards starting or growing their existing business but there was also a 6-month mentorship awarded to the winner to work with Markie herself. The first year the grant ran, there was one winner awarded (Zule owner of ZuleEats - pictured above with her signature Ghanaian style hand-pies). The second year the grant ran, there were two entrepreneurs who both won cash prizes and a 6 month mentorship (Jessica from Rae with Needles and Kelsey owner of Wandering with Dogs - pictured above). This grant was such an important offering for the local small business community here in Windsor-Essex as it inspired others entrepreneurs to check-in on others as well as find ways to partner and work together so that everyone made it through to the other side of the pandemic.