The second Saturday of November each year is the Neighborhood Toy Store Day. It promotes the advantages of shopping local and buying specialty toys. Why should you shop local (this is list is taken from Local Self-Reliance).
1. Local character and prosperity. Your local community's character and prosperity thrive when you shop your local diverse business.
2. Community well-being. Local businesses foster community well being by building strong neighborhoods, sustaining communities, and contributing more to local causes.
3. Local decision making. Local ownership means local decision making by people who live in the community and share in the effect of those decisions.
4. Local economic benefits. Keeping your tax money in your local economy supports local jobs, funds more local social services through sales tax, and invests in neighborhood improvement and development.
5. Local jobs and wages. Locally owned businesses create more jobs locally, and sometimes even provide better wages and benefits.
6. Entrepreneurship. Local entrepreneurship fosters economic innovation and prosperity.
7. Public service costs. Local stores in town centers make more efficient use of public services and community infrastructure than big box chain stores.
8. Environmental impact. Local stores help sustain vibrant, compact, walkable town centers, which in turn are essential to reducing sprawl, automobile use, habitat loss, and air and water control.
9. Healthy competition. A marketplace of tens of thousands of small businesses across our country fosters healthy competition and ensures innovation and low prices over the long term.
10. More choices for you. An abundance of small locally owned businesses, each selecting its own product mix, guarantees a much wider range of product choices for everyone in the community.
I hope to see you at your local toy store this weekend. How do you support your local toy stores?
