Staunton Black Business Collective formed to support Black businesses

STAUNTON – A group of community stakeholders has organized to help grow Black businesses in Staunton. The Staunton Black Business Collective was created to support current Black business owners and encourage entrepreneurship in the Black community, according to a press release. The collective hopes to fill a similar role for founders and aspiring entrepreneurs as B Cubed Program in Harrisonburg, The RISE Foundation in Waynesboro and The Walker Program in Lexington. “There’s a lot of Black and Brown businesses that are under-represented,” said Sabrina Burress, chair of the Staunton Black Business Collective. “There are a lot of folks who are looking for help, looking just to promote who they are and what they have to offer. I think that there’s something to be said about our ability to support one another in what we are doing. That feels really important to the collective.” The founder of The ARROW Project — an organization that exists to raise mental health awareness and support in the community — Burress understands what it takes to get an organization off the ground. “We want to help businesses find the capacity to thrive,” Burress said. “Not to just survive. Not to just pay the bills, but...