RICHMOND, Ind. — The current global pandemic and subsequent stay-at-home order has put a myriad of local workers and businesses in a difficult spot. It has caused employees to lose wages or risk their safety to collect a paycheck, and businesses to close their doors or undergo a massive loss in revenue. 

The brunt of this economic impact, at least locally, has been felt by small businesses who rely on community support to stay afloat. With most Wayne County residents confined to their homes or fearful of venturing out into the public due to COVID-19, sharply reducing the clientele for many businesses. 

For Jon Bottorff's Richmond-based business, it virtually vanished.

"We had to make drastic choices for our business," Bottorff said. "We couldn't operate, we couldn't work and we lost our income. It was either sink or swim to some extent."

Bottorff owns Black Dog Printing, which provides custom screen and garment printing to Richmond and the surrounding Wayne County area. The North Ninth Street shop prints custom T-shirts, sweatshirts, hoodies, zip hoodies, jackets, tote bags, banners, stickers and more at bulk wholesale prices.

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As Bottorff was forced to make difficult choices to keep his business alive, he saw an opportunity to help out others in similar situations. Shortly after the local stay-at-home order was issued, Bottorff began reaching out to businesses that use Black Dog's printing services. 

"I feel like if you're in a position to help people and you don't, you're just bad," Bottorff said.

Bottorff said he never expected what would result.

The plan was to provide financial relief to local businesses doing something Black Dog prides itself on: printing custom T-shirts. The logos of local restaurants, animal shelters, yoga and photography studios, among others, are printed on shirts that are sold to keep small businesses like Black Dog afloat.  

How does the purchase of these shirts contribute to the parties involved? Here's the transparent math.

Each shirt costs $20 plus shipping, $10 goes directly to the employees of the establishment whose logo is on a shirt and $10 goes to the team at Black Dog. Bottorff said he chose a middle-of-the-road, gray-colored shirt that would be cost-efficient and comfortable to wear. 

After three days of the fundraiser, Bottorff said he had to cut it off because the shop was overwhelmed with business. Legends Southside Bar and Grill, Roscoe's Coffee Bar, Liberty Acres, Firehouse BBQ and Blues and many more participated in the fundraiser that was set to conclude on Friday night.

As of Thursday afternoon, Bottorff said approximately 50 local businesses have taken part and a total of 932 shirts had been sold. The goal was originally set for $2,000, but Bottorff quickly increased the target to $5,000. The Black Dog team calls themselves the "local small business pandemic support team" and they, with the help of the community, had raised $9,320 as of Thursday afternoon. 

Stephanie Harrison was one of those impacted by Black Dog's efforts. Like many others, Harrison received a message from Bottorff soon after the introduction of the stay-at-home order because her small business, Block Head Records, uses Black Dog to design its shirts. 

Harrison said she is certainly thankful for the unique fundraiser and can't imagine how much it's helping other local small businesses during such a challenging time.

"It is amazing," Harrison said of the fundraiser. "Because of them, there are businesses that can pay the rent, keep their lights on and will be able to open their doors once the stay-at-home order is lifted." 

Bottorff said there are a lot of great businesses in Richmond and they would've liked to include everybody if they could, but it became physically impossible to keep up with the workload. 

Nonetheless, Black Dog's efforts might minimize the impact that COVID-19 has had on some local businesses, including itself. But Bottorff's idea to help others as he helps himself is something Harrison said is deserving of recognition.

"This is 100 percent what community is all about and why we love Richmond," Harrison said.

​Scott Procter is the sports and education reporter at The Palladium-Item. Follow him on Twitter @SprocterPI or contact him at sprocter@gannett.com.