March 15 Update: This campaign is being transitioned to a virtual effort only, given coronavirus updates. This will include (1) highlighting the virtual activities of our business members and (2) encouraging consumers to buy gift cards now that they can use at a later time, to highlight how gift cards are a great way to infuse local businesses with capital. Our online hashtag is #GiftCardsforSmalls.
Have you ever heard of a match made in heaven? Scout Cambridge and Cambridge Local First sure have. The two forces—a free, local magazine and the non-profit network, respectively—share a common goal of promoting local business, and they want to share the love with the rest of the Cambridge community.
Scout Cambridge (the quirky, community magazine that celebrates the stories of the people, places, and ideas making Cambridge a city like no other) and Cambridge Local First are excited to officially announce our new partnership! We are banding together to further our joint mission of empowering the owners of local businesses and sharing their stories, and reminding Cambridge of what makes our local businesses so magnificent.
How do we plan to do this? The answer is simple: Each week, we will focus our attention on a new neighborhood, moving across the city from east to west (think of the rising sun metaphor). Each Wednesday, we will go door-to-door and meet with local business owners in their stores as part of an initiative called the “Wednesday Walk.” Further, we are building up to the weekly walk with social media posts, educating community members about the neighborhoods’ local economies. On Wednesdays, representatives from our teams will make it down to a few stores in the neighborhood, sharing the entire journey on social media.
“Scout Cambridge has always been about connecting our community by sharing the stories of the people who make Cambridge the dynamic city that it is,” says Scout Cambridge founder, owner, and publisher Holli Banks Allien. “Local business is a huge part of the identity of any city. It’s always great to connect with the hardworking people who are behind those businesses to learn about their passions and goals. The Wednesday Walk is just one more fun and neighborly way to connect.”
Entrepreneurship is at an all-time low in recent decades. However, a growing amount of research has shown what so many of us already know: that the increasing size of corporations drives inequality, while locally-owned businesses strengthen the middle class and create more prosperous and connected communities. “A thriving small business sector is vital to Cambridge’s sense of self! We work to promote that community,” says Theodora Skeadas, Executive Director of Cambridge Local First.
The face of today’s shopping experience is constantly evolving. One of the aspects that makes local business powerful is the personal touch that is often absent from a corporate shopping experience. In this partnership, Scout Cambridge and Cambridge Local First hope to reignite the community’s admiration for the unique shopping experience provided by local businesses, while also creating a network of connections across the city. With Cambridge Local First’s influence and advocacy, and Scout Cambridge’s editorial voice and trusted readership, we aim to instill hope in the local business community and inspire connections between neighborhoods.
You don’t want to miss out on the chance to re-get to know your neighbors. Come join us on our Wednesday Walk, and remind yourself why you love local business. The schedule is as follows:
- March 11 – East Cambridge
- March 18 – Kendall Square
- March 25 – Wellington Harrington and Inman Square
- April 1 – Central Square and Mid-Cambridge
- April 8 – Cambridgeport
- April 15 – Harvard Square
- April 22 – Huron Village and Observatory Hill
April 29 – Porter Square - May 6 – West Cambridge and Fresh Pond
- May 13 – North Cambridge
Register here, and we very much hope you can join us!
Please reach out with questions to Executive Director Theodora Skeadas, at theodora@cambridgelocalfirst.org.