Trying to survive — and bring joy — during a challenging time

Like most party and event rental operators, Rachel Kidder, human resources manager and one of the owners of Orbit Event Rentals, Santa Fe Springs, Calif., has been hit hard by the onset of the coronavirus (COVID-19). Finding ways for her business to survive this crisis has been a full-time-plus job in and of itself.

Kidder, who serves as a member of the ARA of California board, and her team have been pounding the pavement, trying to drum up business anywhere they can.

The company has been able to secure the rental of tents for COVID-19 testing at area hospitals. “Right now, hospitals are our No. 1 customer,” she says.

“Our No. 2 customer is Los Angeles County’s Internal Service Department. This department is the go-to place for the rest of the county to say this is what they need. This department requested lots of little tents for the rest of the year — some for testing, some for parks and others for whatever requests that come in,” she says.

Kidder also has been able to put up some tents at restaurants for outdoor dining. In addition to the tents, tables and chairs, she has been able to rent Astroturf to cover the parking lot grounds, lights for the tents and even a white picket fence or green hedges to go around the outside of the tent to make it cozier. She is grateful when she can rent more than a tent, but many restaurants do not have the money for a tent. “Some just can’t afford the canopy, so they rent the umbrellas to go with the tables,” she says.

In addition, an area cemetery has been relying on her company to provide tents and chairs for graveside funerals. “They have decided to use us to set up the chairs for the services at the gravesite. I am 90 percent sure that they chose us because they know our work and because we have successfully completed ARA’s [American Rental Association’s] Clean. Safe. Essential. program,” she says.

Kidder and her team are so grateful for these rentals that are helping her company survive this terrible health and economic crisis. To show her appreciation to the community and give back to others, especially high school students who weren’t able to end the year with the typical fanfare — attend prom or even be part of a graduation ceremony with their peers — Kidder and her team decided it was their turn to spread some joy.

That came about by offering a free graduation and prom photo party — all offered with adherence to strict safety guidelines.

For one weekend — Thursday through Saturday — Kidder and her team set up a 20-by-20-ft. canopy in their parking lot. Inside the canopy were two photo stations – one for graduates and one for prom attendees.

The graduation photo station was complete with balloons and a 2020 graduation backdrop. The prom photo station had balloons, a backdrop and a big wedding chair that could seat two people comfortably. Kidder hired a professional photographer and even had a local florist come and set up a table to sell additional balloons and flowers.

She shared the invitation on all of her company’s social media outlets — Facebook, Instagram and the website — telling graduates and prom couples they could come 10 minutes apart and receive a free photo in front of these professionally done backdrops. If they wanted more photos, they could go to the photographer’s website to order more. They could even purchase flowers on site. Kidder and her team sanitized everything between appointments.

Well, it didn’t take long for those slots to fill up. “Saturday was booked completely. Friday was pretty booked. If people wanted Saturday after all the slots for that day were filled, we offered them time on Thursday,” she says.

There are three high schools in her immediate area. “I am not sure where everyone came from, but they came. We put it out on our social media and it spread pretty much from there,” she says.

For Kidder and her team, this community event was a way to share that not only were they still available to serve but also that they wanted to spread some joy and offer a big thank you for the support they have received.

“It was a lot of fun. Right now, we want to be present in our customers’ minds. There are so many places that are still locked down. We are happy with whatever business we have. We are thankful,” she says.