Pedestrians walk by a store which had its windows broken by anti-G20 protesters on Yonge Street. (Adrien Veczan/Canadian Press)

A group of Ryerson University students is trying to build buzz and help small businesses that were affected by the protests at last month’s G20 summit in Toronto.

The project, called “Protests to Profits” is a student-led initiative that offers free advertising for affected businesses through websites and flyers.

Laura Miller, the project co-ordinator, said a major aim is creating awareness that small businesses were affected by the protests.

"We plotted them on a map, have their logo, a bit about their business, and if they wanted to include a discount, we included that as well,” Miller said.

Kat McEwan, the manager at Fashion Crimes, a Queen Street West boutique, said the store wasn’t vandalized – but she said the store’s business did suffer.

“We couldn’t open on Sunday, we weren’t open long enough to make any money on Saturday, really,” McEwan said. “And no one came down the next week because everyone was afraid of Queen Street.”

The volunteers are handing out the map of affected businesses in high-traffic areas, like Yonge and Dundas Square, and a website features a different small business every day.

The project has been running for about three weeks, and volunteers have distributed about 1,000 maps so far, Miller said.

”Over the next two weeks, we’ll be handing out about 1,000 more,” she said.

The federal government is not legally bound to pay compensation for losses businesses suffer during international meetings hosted in Canada, but some businesses that suffered losses because of extraordinary security measures can apply for some compensation.