Shopping Guide, 2011

On Saturday, November 26th, the 2nd Annual Small Business Saturday takes place to support local businesses that create jobs, boost the economy and preserve neighborhoods around the country. Small Business Saturday is a national movement to drive shoppers to local merchants across the U.S. on the busiest shopping weekend of the year.

According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, there were nearly 28 million small businesses in the United States last year.  Over the past two decades, they created 65 percent of net new jobs.  Their importance to local communities extends even further.  For every $100 spent in locally-owned, independent stores, $68 returns to the community through taxes, payroll and other expenditures.

In order to promote our own small businesses, the City of College Park created a 2011 Holiday Shopping Guide that provides a list of several independent businesses offering great gifts. As the holiday season approaches please consider these local businesses, along with the other unique retailers in College Park, as part of your shopping plans.

The City has an excellent website called http://ShopCollegePark.org , that lists alll businesses operating within the city. Let’s all browse the website, and make an habit to shop busnesses within the city.

Also, City’s economic development team has published a shopping guide for this holiday season. You can grab that guide here.