Courtesy Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce
A new campaign called “Save Our Locals” is aiming to help local businesses, particularly during the holiday season.
The Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce is leading the effort to bring awareness to community members on how crucial it is to shop at local, independent businesses to help ensure their survival as restrictions on businesses due to COVID-19 continues to take a toll.
The Chamber is partnering with business organizations across Saratoga County—including Discover Saratoga, Saratoga County Prosperity Partnership, the Mechanicville-Stillwater Chamber of Commerce, the Saratoga Springs Downtown Business Association, Saratoga Springs City Center, and the Ballston Spa Business and Professional Association—in this united effort to save local businesses.
“As winter nears, many local businesses continue to operate with severe restrictions placed on them in the effort to stop the spread of COVID 19,” Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce President Todd Shimkus said.
“These restrictions are already having a devastating economic impact locally. We all need to realize just how hard it is to sustain a business over a number of months if not longer when you can only use 25 percent of your space as is the case with fitness facilities or 50 percent of your space with restaurants.”
A special Save Our Locals logo was created and shared with thousands of local businesses via email and social media. Businesses of all kinds are being urged to print and display this logo to remind their customers, clients, and employees to support local businesses in the coming weeks and months.
The email that was sent to close to 10,000 contacts in the Chamber’s database. Recipients were invited to download a Save Our Locals poster and to display the poster in their place of business to remind their employees, customers, and clients to make as many purchases of goods and services from local businesses as possible.
There are actually 28 different Save Our Locals posters available. Each of them uses the same logo but is then customized to promote each of the 27 cities, towns and villages across Saratoga County as well as the county itself.
Like the Stronger Together Saratoga County campaign instituted by the Chamber earlier this year, the Save Our Locals campaign is meant to bring awareness to consumers on how crucial it is to shop locally, especially for the upcoming holiday season.
The campaign is highlighting Saratoga County restaurant take-out and online gift card sales for local businesses that offer them, including salons and spas, retail stores, florists, home goods, gyms, photographers, breweries, and wineries.
The Chamber’s Saratoga County SCORE chapter of volunteer business counselors will be available for virtual and in-person confidential sessions to help small businesses looking for advice to adapt their finances, human resources, sales, marketing, and more.
“Winter is coming. COVID 19 is still here. Let’s join together to Save Our Locals,” Shimkus said. “We are Stronger Together in Saratoga County. Let us know if we can help your business. Let us know if you can help others as well.”
More information about the Save Our Locals campaign is available online at www.saratoga.org/save-our-locals.