On the third Saturday of each month we hold our Thimbleberries Club and while we are there to talk about quilting and all kinds of fun quilting stuff, but every once in a while we get on some pretty interesting subjects. This past week we got to talking about buying local, not just buying from your LQS but buying from your local bakery, farmers market, even our local card store. Kim talked about reading about the 3/50 Project but couldn't remember all the details and I wasn't much help because it had been awhile since I had read about it...we ended the conversation with me promising them I would find the details and post them here... so here goes...
3 Think about which three independently owned businesses you’d miss most if they were gone. Stop in and say hello. Pick up a little something that will make someone smile. Your contribution is what keeps those businesses around.
50 If just half the employed U.S. population spent $50 each month in independently owned businesses, their purchases would generate more than $42.6 billion in revenue.* Imagine the positive impact if 3/4 of the employed population did that.
68 For every $100 spent in independently owned stores, $68 returns to the community through taxes, payroll, and other expenditures. If you spend that in a national chain, only $43 stays here. Spend it online and nothing comes home.
1 The number of people it takes to start the trend...you.
I shop our local farmers market on Saturday, our local bread shop Great Harvest Bread, wine & cheese shop The Town Duck, restaurant Black Bear Bistro, even buying furniture right here in Old Town from Shelf Life. So if you live in a small town, take a look around and see how you can participate in the 3/50 project and help those independent business' ... they will be forever grateful. So I end this post with a big thank you to everyone that shops at Kelly Ann's Quilting and all of our local independent business' here in Warrenton.
Kelly Ann
3 Think about which three independently owned businesses you’d miss most if they were gone. Stop in and say hello. Pick up a little something that will make someone smile. Your contribution is what keeps those businesses around.
50 If just half the employed U.S. population spent $50 each month in independently owned businesses, their purchases would generate more than $42.6 billion in revenue.* Imagine the positive impact if 3/4 of the employed population did that.
68 For every $100 spent in independently owned stores, $68 returns to the community through taxes, payroll, and other expenditures. If you spend that in a national chain, only $43 stays here. Spend it online and nothing comes home.
1 The number of people it takes to start the trend...you.
I shop our local farmers market on Saturday, our local bread shop Great Harvest Bread, wine & cheese shop The Town Duck, restaurant Black Bear Bistro, even buying furniture right here in Old Town from Shelf Life. So if you live in a small town, take a look around and see how you can participate in the 3/50 project and help those independent business' ... they will be forever grateful. So I end this post with a big thank you to everyone that shops at Kelly Ann's Quilting and all of our local independent business' here in Warrenton.
Kelly Ann
Kelly... Thanks for the reminder!! Last fall when I was asked to speak at a guild meeting in a nearby town, I talked a bit about Shiisa Quilts... but I spent MORE TIME talking about Project 3/50 and Project 95.....
ReplyDeleteI reminded all those quilters that their LQS may NOT be the one that's closest to them, or they may have more than one "home shop"... and that's ok!! Variety is the spice of life, after all!!...
But if we want the local quilt shops, local scrapbooking shops, local hardware stores, local restaurants, local fitness centers, local clothing stores, and on and on and on... to be there for us, we need to choose them FIRST!!
I try to remember to always shop local when it's available.... I even have a local business that supplies my printer toner -- and he delivers it!! I love that!!
Great post Kelly...I preach this all the time. Instead of shopping at Walmart I manage to find most of what I need at a locally run store...and I still save money! If I can buy local, I do.
ReplyDeleteJanet xox