The Athens Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) understands that many businesses have been affected by the recent changes due to COVID-19. In order to garner support for the travel, tourism and hospitality-related businesses, the Athens CVB has launched the Support Athens Own campaign on Facebook and Instagram.

The purpose of this group is to foster the spirit of Athens and find unique ways to directly support the community. The Athens CVB invites the local community to join the Facebook group to share funding ideas, resources for small businesses, celebrate the community’s spirit, share acts of kindness and inventive ways to engage. A few ways to engage with the community are virtual live concerts, virtual happy hours and virtual tours, which some businesses have already done in order to keep the community uplifted and entertained during these extraordinary times.
 
“These are unprecedented times and the CVB was looking to support our partners and the community in any way possible,” said CVB Director Katie Williams. “We wanted to give people a place to gather and collaborate on ways we can come together around the people being directly affected. It is our goal for the Support Athens Own campaign to become a community initiative that garners both funding for the businesses and people and fosters community pride.”
 
The Athens CVB invites local community leaders, business owners and others to join the Facebook group and to use #SupportAthensOwn when posting photos or encouraging comments concerning our community on social media.