As the holiday shopping season hits its peak, the Chamber of Commerce of Eastern Connecticut wants everyone to remember to “Buy Local – Shop Chamber.”
Whether it’s a gift for a loved one, a gift certificate for a co-worker, a roast for the holiday table or a festive wreath for your front door, patronizing our local shops and businesses is good for all of us.
When you buy goods and services from merchants and businesses in eastern Connecticut, the money you spend stays in our community. Those dollars support the essential services that we all rely on, including police, fire, parks, streets and more. In addition, schools and community programs are supported in this way.
Local shops are owned and run by your neighbors. Their children go to school with your children. They pay taxes and contribute to the quality of life in our communities. When you shop locally, merchants know your likes and dislikes. They will often go the extra mile to accommodate your needs.
Knowledgeable, family-owned, in the community — these are attributes that make a locally owned business attractive to consumers. Helping new businesses take root in our communities and grow into these trusted legacy establishments is the Chamber’s mission.
The Chamber is pleased to support local merchants in many ways, whether it be by listing our members in our online directory, posting their news on our website and social media platforms, helping with a ribbon-cutting, sharing their information with our nearly 10,000 email addresses, or holding events in their businesses.
Please visit our website at www.chamberect.com to see the full listing of our member businesses, and I leave you with this Christmas poem written by Norman W. Brooks:
Christmas is forever, not for just one day,
for loving, sharing, giving, are not to put away
like bells and lights and tinsel, in some box upon a shelf.
The good you do for others is good you do yourself.
Tony Sheridan is president and CEO of the Chamber of Commerce of Eastern Connecticut.