This petition is to request that the federal government create a stimulus package to be paid Directly to Small Businesses in the entertainment and hobby industry, especially the tabletop gaming industry which has been shattered due to Covid-19...

In December of 2019, American business owners could not possibly have prepared for a catastrophic global pandemic that would destroy their lives and the ability to serve their communities.

On March 27th, 2020, President Donald Trump signed into law an unprecedented stimulus package with a total value of $2 Trillion dollars to help big and small businesses and individual taxpayers. However, on April 16th, nearly two weeks later, the New York Times reported that those loans have dried up, hanging millions of small businesses out to dry. 

While the other industries are receiving big bailouts or getting the green-light to go back to work, the hobby industry still suffers in the wake of Covid-19. The hobby industry, however, will not be able to return to normal until much later, possibly not until 2021 or later as federal guidelines suggest it could be months or years before people can gather in groups, which tabletop games require.

This pandemic has left communities far and wide completely devastated, and it has taken away an essential of life - face to face interaction with friends and loved ones. Sharing time together playing board games and other face-to-face hobbies have been scientifically proven to boost a person's overall mental health, and local gaming communities have been unable to meet face-to-face for months already. 

As the Sports Industry is being declared essential, the hobby industry is still suffering as it is impossible to gather in order to participate in most hobbies. Doors closed on millions of local game stores where millions of friends once gathered to play tabletop games, e-sports, buy comics or other collectibles, and most of all, to meet with friends and share in unique, face to face experiences with a strong community of peers and close friends.

Game Stores make many of us feel at home, and our local game stores, this is, or was, a sole means of income - and it will be impossible for small game companies to compete with large companies in a digital environment that will ultimately be the only alternative.

This, unfortunately, affects many other businesses as well, including tabletop game manufacturers, developers, producers and distributors that rely on hobby stores to market and sell products at retail and cultivate the communities that support their businesses. 

Artists and Graphic design firms and independent contractors are largely out of work too, especially those who specialize in creating art and designs for board games and other collectibles.

All of these industries and their employees have been either furloughed or laid off as stores and companies close their doors or reduce their workforce, and it is time that we request a stimulus package designed to assist in not only making up for lost wages — but also to help them adapt to the current state of the world and get their gaming community online, as well as set up a revenue stream.

Summary of the petition(TLDR)

• Local Game Stores, Tabletop Game Production and other face-to-face hobbies are essential for positive mental health and well-being.
• We request the federal government to declare businesses in the gaming industry, including content creation and other media creation, as Essential Businesses so we can safely go back to work to support customers remotely until it is safe to support them in person. Hobbies keep us healthy and happy.
• We request the federal government pass a stimulus package to small businesses in the Hobby Retail, Tabletop Game production, related graphic design companies and content producers with Direct Payments from the U.S. Treasury Department.
• Develop new, modern software and infrastructure to bring communities together online, giving local game stores new paths to generating much-needed revenue for small entertainment and toy retailers, graphic designers, and others in the tabletop gaming field.
• To support our local game stores and help them recover, we must support the entire gaming industry, including game designers and producers. 
• Please Sign and Share if you agree.

Thank you for your time, and we hope you're all staying safe.