Come explore Lockhart’s historical downtown! The First Friday of every month is a unique experience for visitors. Our downtown area celebrates the beginning of a new month with live music, complementary drinks/snacks, art exhibits, and more. Explore, enjoy, come back for more.
Before COVID-19, First Friday found downtown Lockhart teeming with activity.
“As you can imagine, the streets are now empty,” shared Caldwell County Judge Hoppy Haden.
When businesses began shuttering due to the pandemic, a couple of large industries expressed interest in helping abate the economic fallout.
Prior to the pandemic, Haden and Dennis Engelke, the county’s grant administrator, had visited about the development of a foundation to help support an animal shelter. In light of the Coronavirus, the decision was made to repurpose the foundation to help sustain local businesses. Haden and Engelke quickly moved forward with the formation of the Caldwell County Community Services Foundation.
“We’re just trying to help these restaurants and businesses stay alive, help pay the light bill,” Haden explained.
Caldwell County funded the creation of the foundation, which is still securing its 501(c)(3) status. Each Commissioner appointed one member from the Commissioner’s precinct to the foundation board, and Haden appointed a member at-large.
When the foundation is operational, businesses will be invited to complete a simple, one-page application for review by the board.
“We want to make it easy for those in need to apply for the grant money,” Haden detailed. The non-profit foundation will be run through the Lockhart Chamber of Commerce.
The chamber will have the foundation review grant applications and make recommendations back to the chamber on how to distribute the funds for assistance to local small businesses with rent and payroll during COVID-19, Haden said. The funds will be issued in the form of a grant up to $2,000.
“We are trying to hurry and make this viable,” Haden added. “If we could get these donations coming in, I feel like we could really do some good and provide some service to those here in our town.”