LOVE LOCAL This Winter: How We Can Help Ensure Our Businesses Survive
Traditionally, late fall is such a fun time in West Roxbury. Snowflakes on lampposts. Twinkling lights in store front windows. A decorated tree by the Hastings parking lot. Red bows and wreaths on doors. Blue and white lights on shrubs. We’ve already adapted and modified our Halloween celebration on Centre Street to a joy-filled “Trunks or Treats” distanced gathering. Once again our business owners pitched in to celebrate with us.
This December our various holidays and holy days will be celebrated differently as well. By now, we all have heard that this season and the winter that follows will have us indoors and more distanced from others. But that shouldn’t stop us from enjoying and supporting our community. Our small businesses and the people who work in them are a large part of what makes West Roxbury such a wonderfully livable and walkable place.
Whether your favorite local businesses are restaurants or retail and service businesses, our choosing to turn to them rather than national big box companies will make a real difference in keeping these places in our lives. Here are a few suggestions for how we can all help our businesses succeed during the upcoming Covid-19 holiday and winter seasons.
Fill your gift buying needs with products and gift cards from local stores.
Send your favorite businesses a care package, including hand sanitizer, masks and maybe a nice box of chocolates : - )
Buy items in larger quantities so you don’t have to go out so much. (Ex., printer paper.)
Set up recurring future deliveries or curb pick-ups as gifts to friends and relatives: maybe even to clients. (Ex., flowers, wine, food, hats/scarfs/gloves, etc.)
If your purchases go to others in the area, how about sending a basket with items and gift cards from several of your favorite West Roxbury businesses.
Wishing you safe and warm holiday and winter seasons. Thanks for all you do to keep our community whole.
Karen Bishop, Elizabeth Hoenscheid, and Kanessa Alexander
Board Members, West Roxbury Main Streets