Thanks for a Great RAK Week!

Thanks to everyone who came to our Kindness Festival on Saturday, February 8, and to everyone who participated in Random Acts of Kindness Week. Our festival featured "Pickles," the one-eyed pirate kitty from Cat's Cradle. Kids also had fun making Kindness Clocks with Miss Marcia.

For Random Acts of Kindness Week, we teamed with Mary Baldwin College to perform Random Acts of Kindness throughout downtown Staunton. Anonymous acts of kindness were springing up all over! It was a lot of fun and a huge success.

You can check out all the fun activities and acts of kindness on our RAK Week Pinterest board.

Blessings

After a rather tumultuous 2012, our move to Staunton – with all its trepidations, hopes, and fears - turned out to be a wonderful blessing. We have met some amazing and talented people here, and made many new friends. With the help of both friends and strangers alike we were able to grow and expand the shop and community center in ways we had never imagined before. And there are even more good things on the horizon for the coming year.

We’re grateful, too, for the continuing support of our Northern Virginia/Maryland/DC and Beyond clientele. It is so heartwarming to know that you have not forgotten us. So many of you made the trip to Staunton to check out our new space and were surprised and delighted with the old-fashioned charm and hospitality of our new hometown. Staunton has a vibrant arts and culture scene and also is a mecca for outdoor enthusiasts. Check out all the wonderful events, happenings, and things to do at: VisitStaunton.com

Our biggest blessing is you, our wonderful and loyal customers. We are honored and humbled that you have continued to support us through seventeen years of transformations. And you've brought your friends, family, and visitors to see us and share in our little "oasis of serenity," expanding our community of fellow travelers to the 4 corners of the world.

Thank you.

Peace & Many Blessings to You in the New Year,
Sally & Scooter

Small Business: The Heart of Your Community

 

In a scene from the hit film, You've Got Mail, the character played by Tom Hanks attempts to justify his corporate bookstore chain's expansion which resulted in the closing of a smaller neighborhood shop. According to Tom: "It's not personal, it's just business..."

Meg Ryan's comeback is classic:

"It's personal to me. It's personal to a lot of people. And what's so wrong with being personal anyway? Whatever else anything is, it ought to begin by being personal..."

Locally-owned businesses start with being personal. The shop owners and employees are your friends and neighbors. They know your name. They know your dog's name. They know the names of your children AND their birthdays.

They know the products you like, in the colors and sizes you want, and they stock them just for you. If they don't have it, they special order it. If they do have it but you can't get it just yet, they hold it for you.

Not only do locally-owned businesses give a community its unique personality but research shows that the presence of mom-and-pop shops helps to raise property values. And they support the community in a myriad of other ways. Did you know:

•    A locally-owned shop returns 68% of its revenues to the local economy, whereas a national chain returns only 43%?

•    Locally-owned shops employ more local residents and pay them substantially higher wages, in addition to having a broader range of jobs available?

•    Local businesses buy more than twice as much from other local businesses, and also are more likely to use local banks and other service providers?

•    Local businesses contribute more to the community through charitable giving, school funding, and other non-profit organizations?

Support locally owned businesses by shopping on Small Business Saturday - the Saturday after Thanksgiving. This year, Small Business Saturday falls on November 30. To learn more about the "Shop SMALL" movement, follow these links:

Small Business Saturday
The 3/50 Project
Independent We Stand

Not only are you much more likely to discover some unexpected wonder or unique handmade treasure at an independent small business, but every dollar spent in a locally-owned shop is a vote for the health and welfare of your community.

Everyone wins when you "Shop SMALL" on Small Business Saturday!