Harrisonburg Downtown Renaissance is rallying the community to support their favorite local, independent businesses in downtown Harrisonburg this Saturday.
Small Business Saturday is a national campaign that was created by American Express. The corporation approached the National Trust Main Street Center in 2010 when they were searching for a partner to launch the inaugural event. Harrisonburg Downtown Renaissance’s executive director, Andrea Dono worked at the Main Street Center at the time. She selected three downtowns across the U.S. to pilot the national promotion and worked with the communities to plan the day’s festivities and track the economic impact at small businesses.
“We distributed $15,000 to each community to plan and market the event,” says Andrea Dono, Executive Director at Harrisonburg Downtown Renaissance “By connecting to the national Small Business Saturdaycampaign and promoting it locally, each downtown had higher foot traffic during Black Friday weekend and businesses made more money because shoppers were looking for an experience during the holiday shopping season – not just a transaction.”
Since its inception, Small Business Saturday has brought national attention to the small, hometown business we love. “It’s a day to celebrate the charm and economic impact that small businesses contribute to our community,” says Kim Kirk, Chief Marketing Officer at Harrisonburg Downtown Renaissance. “By shopping local, consumers are supporting the small business owners that we call family, friends and neighbors.”
In addition to a unique and personalized shopping experience, the benefits of shopping local are great. It’s an investment in our community. When consumers spend $100 at local, independent businesses, $68 dollars gets returned to Harrisonburg. When $100 is spent at national businesses, only $43 gets returned to the city. When purchases are made online, $0 gets returned.
Harrisonburg Downtown Renaissance invites the community to explore downtown this holiday season. When you shop downtown between now and November 26th, you can register to win one of three gift baskets filled with more than $100 in gift certificates and prizes. Registration boxes are located at Blue Ridge Dog, Larkin Arts, The Lady Jane, Ten Thousand Villages, Walkabout Outfitter, The Sole Source, and the Rocktown Gift Shoppe.
For more information, including a list of downtown shops and restaurants, visitwww.downtownharrisonburg.org.
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