Supporting Our Friends & Family, Supporting Small Businesses

Ways To Support:

• Shop at these small business online stores – links below
• SHARE in social media the great products and services they are selling – sharing is caring and if you can’t afford to make the purchase, you certainly can afford to SHARE their websites with others!
• Leave positive feedback on products you buy from them
• Return and buy from them again in the future
• Are you like me? Do you holiday and birthday shop early? Now is the time to do some early shopping!
• Buy gift certificates from small businesses / buy gift certificates from “gig workers” like your hair stylist!
• Support your local farmers – buy directly from them when you can!
• Support your local non-profits who are struggling to do important work in your community

The world’s a strange place for many of us right now. Maybe most of us.

The coronavirus pandemic has affected everyone – some to the saddest, most extreme levels. Others are less impacted, but still are struggling: loss of job, jobs at risk, health at risk, unable to see friends and family, and many small businesses are suffering under what is fast becoming a serious economic recession.

So, I’m going to get right to the point. I want to share a short list of people I know either personally or through like-minded social media groups. I hope you browse their wares and make a purchase. At the very least, if you could share this post – or their sites – in your social media channels, maybe this will help bring them some much needed business – now and in the future.

Cindy – Norwex USA Consultant – https://cindydykes.norwex.biz/en_US/

Norwex is a company specializing in sustainable personal care and cleaning products. Cindy, a Norwex consultant, is an activist who cares deeply about the environment and sustainability. She has advocated in both New York State and Washington, D.C., and formerly worked for a non-profit that was key in pressing for the 24-hour notification act in New York State with regards to pesticide application. Cindy walks the walk and talks the talk! Check out the product line here!

Coastal Tailgating – http://coastaltailgating.com/

Heading to Myrtle Beach, SC in the future? (Because someday the world will reopen and Myrtle Beach would be a fun destination!) The owners of Coastal Tailgating are some of the best – and most fun – people you will ever meet! I have known them for over 47 years… 😀 (Disclaimer, this is a family business run by my sister and her husband!) So here’s the deal: if you are ever in Myrtle Beach, check out their Facebook page here to see if they are running a Cornhole tournament and  join in. They also RENT their boards to vacationers. AND, they build custom boards and sell bean bags, too! By the way, custom Cornhole Boards make AWESOME gifts! I love this set pictured below.

Chicken Librarian – https://chickenlibrarian.com/shop/

Kristin over at Chicken Librarian offers great handmade products, such as lip balm, salve, and KITS! Yes, DIY kits to make your own! Right now NOW is the perfect time to purchase a kit and experiment with a homemade project! How about buying a kit for your amazing kids or grand-kids? If you order from Chicken Librarian and have the kit shipped to your loved ones – you have the power to make the day for many people with just one purchase. Wow, you’d be like… a small business superhero AND the best parent or grandparent – ever! 😀 So visit: https://chickenlibrarian.com/shop/ and make your purchase.

Posie Gets Cozy – Blog: https://www.posiegetscozy.com/ | Shop: https://aliciapaulson.com/

I love the “Posie Gets Cozy” blog. She posts the sweetest photos of her home, her pretty daughter, and her stitch – works. I’m not crafty, but I do admire her work. You might too! Check out her shop here: https://aliciapaulson.com/. Also, her husband works in healthcare (on her blog she writes that he’s a cardiac nurse) so their little family has definitely been affected by the pandemic.

Tees by DD – https://www.facebook.com/pg/TeesbyDD/shop/

Kelly is a fantastic graphic artist who also designs t-shirts! She has a shop on Facebook that you can browse, and I believe around 50 designs for under $20 per shirt. Quite the bargain! I love the crow designs. View the selection here! When you click on a t-shirt in her Facebook shop, it opens a window so that you can buy it on Amazon. Easy Peasy. (Update: we heard from Kelly that Amazon has temporarily suspended the point-of-sale t-shirt sales on Amazon…. but please still go like her Facebook page and remember to return to buy from her in the future!)

Your Local Farmers

Don’t want to go to the grocery store right now? Neither do we! And we are not. 

Many of us have local farmers around us who are providing an invaluable service (always). We are getting our meat and eggs from a local farmer “up the road.” (Shout out to Seven Bridges Farm!) What I love is that we can text our order (or FB message in our order), and then pick-up a packed bag or box at their farm right outside their shop door. We leave a check in the box. We don’t have to worry about coming in contact with one another.

Also, consider joining a CSA (community supported agriculture) program if you are not growing your own food!

Find a CSA here: https://www.localharvest.org/csa/

Find a farmer near you: https://www.localharvest.org/

Don’t Forget About Non-Profits!

I spent a good part of my career working in not-for-profits. What you might not realize – and I didn’t understand this until I worked for a non-profit – is that often during a well-known (national, global, etc.) crisis, those charities serving demographics OTHER than those affected by the crisis-of-the-moment DO suffer. How? Donations that might normally come to them do not. Donations are instead made to other charities combating the crisis.

Take a moment and think about the “causes” and charities we support when “things are good.” Have you thought of one or two? How about the small charities who struggle even when times are good?

Please consider supporting the local charities in your hometown that support those in YOUR community: animal shelters; homeless shelters; food banks; physical health and mental health related support groups and programs; literacy organizations; foundations supporting the arts and art education; your local 4-H club; senior centers and programs (think meals on wheels!); domestic violence programs and shelters; and so on. They are also affected by this pandemic, and again remember, donations to these important agencies tend to go down when other global crises rear their ugly heads.

Always vet a charity or cause if you are unsure of their practices or how funding is allocated. For example, you don’t want to see the majority of funding they receive going to administrative costs or marketing. Check out the percentage allocated to programming. This website CharityNavigator.org is a good resource for that.

Mr. Gordon writes a check every month to a food bank serving our area. Right now my “charity of choice” is our county’s 4-H program. The monies donated to the extension can be designated for 4-H.

It’s Worth Repeating… Ways To Support:

• Shop at these small business online stores – links above!
• SHARE in social media the great products and services they are selling
• Leave positive feedback on products you buy from them
• Return and buy from them again in the future
• Holiday and birthday shopping – get a jump on it! Now is the time to do some early shopping!
• Buy gift certificates from small businesses / buy gift certificates from “gig workers” like your hair stylist!
• Support your local farmers – buy directly from them when you can!
• Support your local non-profits who are struggling to do important work in your community

What small businesses are you supporting right now?

In a comment below, share the link to the online business you are supporting or tell us about the non-profit you are making sure you are still donating to in this critical time.

NOTICE: I will vet all links to make sure: that they are legit and in line with our community culture here at GardenCookEatRepeat.com; that they are not promoting anything obscene or hateful; and of course, anything spammy will be… tossed out!

Oh, more more thing…

Will you share this post in your social media channels, too? 🙂