ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Over 13,000 businesses applied for CARES Act funding through Orange County. Of the nearly 6,800 awarded, 70% are businesses owned by either women or minorities.
Ignite Martial Arts School is owned by Sean Cumberbatch, who’s African American, and Patty Collazo, who’s Puerto Rican. A few months ago, they thought the pandemic would rob them of their business.
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The couple applied for a Paycheck Protection Program loan in April. When they didn’t hear back, they applied for a small business grant through Orange County in June.
The next day, they got an email saying they’d been approved.
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They said the $10,000 they received not only saved their business, but the community they’ve built together.
I’m so excited to put this story together! Nearly 70% of the businesses that received those grants were minority- or women-owned! For example: @trainignite - a martial arts school that is WAY MORE than it seems. I’ll explain tonight at 10/11PM! @WFTV #WFTV @OrangeCoFL https://t.co/2zrt10y8O2
— Megan Cruz (@MeganWFTV) October 9, 2020
In addition to teaching martial arts, they also help kids with homework, host community events and have even organized a weekly food pantry.
Orange County is looking over its last applications. It says about 50% of the total applicants were typically denied because they didn’t submit a complete application or didn’t fit the grant criteria.
Cox Media Group
