Support Local Business: Join the 3/50 Project
The 3/50 Project grass-roots project has been launched to help preserve the brick and mortar stores in the United States. The brain-child of Cinda Baxter, a leading retail industry expert, is a call-to-arms to encourage people to shop locally. While this new website will evolve over time, Guild Members are encouraged to become a 3/50 supporter and spread the word to their customers and suppliers.
The premise of the project is quite simple: Ask residents to list three independently owned businesses that they would miss if they disappeared. The website is a vehicle to encourage residents to support local business. According to the website, of $100 spent in locally owned stores, “$68 returns to the community through taxes, payroll and other expenditures. If you spend that in a national chain, only $43 stays in the community. Spend it online and nothing comes home.”
For the most part, Guild stores are family-owned business with deep ties to the communities we serve. The 3/50 project gives us an opportunity to reflect on the integral role our businesses play in the lives of residents. It’s not business, it’s personal. Let’s help rebuild our once vibrant town centers and restore a level of civility and sense of community that is sadly lacking across this great country.
April 18th, 2009 at 2:46 pm
[...] Baxter’s 3/50 Project is very close to my heart. Her noble effort to encourage buyers to shop locally has not only [...]
June 3rd, 2009 at 4:08 pm
[...] of the nationwide 3/50 Project. The Stationers Guild was one of the early supporters of Cinda Baxter’s 3/50 Project and, as Guild members, we are very much encouraged that leading stationery companies are now [...]