Holiday Guide - Keep Concord Connected Thru COVID
Hi. I'm Jennifer Schunemann, and I am a co-founder of Voyager Publishing - we publish Discover Concord magazine. The town of Concord, Massachusetts is an incredibly special place - it's where the American Revolution began. It's where Henry David Thoreau wrote "Civil Disobedience", where Louisa May Alcott penned the heartwarming tale of Little Women. And...well... it's my home. It means a lot to me.
I am heartbroken to see that some of our treasured shops have already permanently closed their doors during the COVID-19 pandemic (the Toy Shop, Colonial Stores, Montague Gallery, Winston Flowers, etc.)...and more are in real danger of closing soon. The shops and restaurants that form our town centers are a vital part of our cultural heritage - and they need our help!
The holidays are normally a fun and festive time when our small businesses make revenues vital to carrying them through winter. But with public health restrictions cutting guest capacity severely - it's almost impossible for businesses to reach that vital revenue threshold to get them through winter. And remember - many of them are still struggling with the debts of being closed all spring! Some of our 'Mom and Pop' shops don't have e-commerce - and a portion of our citizens are just plain staying home to keep safe during COVID-19. So we need to be creative to fill this gap and keep our businesses going!
Voyager Publishing/Discover Concord magazine is putting together a unique catalogue of gifts entirely from our beautiful shops and restaurants in Concord, Massachusetts to encourage our residents to shop locally - even from the comfort of their home. We will also include articles that highlight the amazing stories of the shop owners, our town, and all the great things we are doing to support one another. Importantly, we are also going to include all of our non-profit organizations - such as the Louisa May Alcott Orchard House, the Concord Museum, the Robbins House, the Old Manse, and our arts organizations.
We are hoping that the community will rally around this project to ensure that ALL shops and restaurants in Concord can participate, while relieving some of the intense financial strain they are under. They are trying to keep the lights on - so let's band together and keep them going with our community support!
Here is our plan:
- Every Concord, MA retail shop or restaurant will be offered a spot in this high-end, inviting "Holiday Guide to Gift Giving"
- Our volunteers will go into the shops and photograph their holiday featured item(s) and gather the information for their spot in the Guide
- Our team will work at an intense pace to get this done and in mailboxes by the beginning of November (that's a month from now!)
- We will print and mail the Guide to every household in Concord - that's nearly 9,000 copies!
- We will also post the guide in eBook format and push it out through social media to further encourage local shopping through the holiday season
We are racing ahead with this project at full steam, to do everything we can to support the shops and restaurants that are such a vital part of our cultural heritage. We hope you will help.
As the days grow shorter and colder, restrictions on in-person shopping may become more severe. Our shop keepers are already under so much pressure and so much strain. They really need us - let's come together to show them how much they mean to us. Let's make sure they are here next year, when we can truly celebrate coming through this crisis together.
Thank you so much for considering supporting this project, supporting the beautiful town of Concord, Massachusetts, and for supporting Voyager Publishing/Discover Concord magazine - a small, women-run business right here in Concord. If you have questions, please reach out to me here .Every donation helps - so thank you! #SmallBusinessRelief #COVID-19 #ConcordTogether #ShopLocal