Paycheck Protection Program and SBA Debt Relief helps small business pay employees during pandemic

Bright Futures Learning Services (BFLS), headquartered in Winfield, West Virginia, opened in 2007 and provides Applied Behavior Analysis services to children with autism and other disabilities.

Jill Scarbro-McLaury, owner of BFLS, was forced to shut down the facility for seven weeks due to the Coronavirus pandemic. In addition to setting up telehealth visits for her students, Scarbo-McLaury was faced with finding a way to meet payroll for her 28 employees and cover normal operating expenses.

“I was very thankful for the relationship I have formed with the U.S. Small Business Administration’s West Virginia District Office the past couple years through the Emerging Leaders Program, 504 Loan, SBA award, and my SBDC and SCORE coaches,” stated Scarbro-McLaury “The first thing I did was attend the daily COVID-19 Relief for Small Business webinars that was hosted by SBA’s West Virginia District Office. I took a couple of them and learned as much as I could about the Paycheck Protection Program and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan and then turned to my management company and lender Aaron Smith at People’s Bank.”  

With the help of SBA and People’s Bank, Scarbro-McLaury was able to secure a $170,000 Paycheck Protection Program loan to keep her employees fully paid while being closed and not at full capacity once reopened. In addition to the PPP Scarbro-McLaury was able to utilize SBA’s Debt Relief program where SBA will pay six months of principal, interest, and any associated fees that Scarbro-McLaury owes on her current 504 loan.