Keep Nevada City Video Alive: Support Debbie

My name is Debbie and I own Nevada City Video in Nevada City, CA. My family took over the store in 2010. Located in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, at that time, many of us lacked good internet, or any internet at all, and many parents were also trying to limit and control their children's screen time. I identified as such a parent. I invested my heart, soul, tons of research and money to add all the classic, popular and award-winning films and television in our current library of 11,000 titles. I curated this collection based on what made our area unique and the tastes of our customers. Historically we always ran at a loss but we managed to cover our expenses and bills. However, since 2016, all my helpers have been volunteers and like me, have not been paid anything to provide this service to the community. It's always been a labor of love; for film, the community and the folks we met along this journey. In 2019 my mother passed suddenly. Mom was the funding of the operation and I had to use my small inheritance to keep the business open. We've always been competing with streaming services and improved internet. Many who promised to support us no longer do, despite being the better value. When Covid-19 hit, our competition closed for good and the public library closed for many months. We did not close. We knew our community needed us! Many of our customers moved away and the new people have brought their city ways into a "support local" community. I fear all our local businesses struggling in favor of Amazon and corporatized convenience. Yet many tourists come in to experience the nostalgia! Their video stores have been extinct for decades. We don't serve the tourists, we rely on the locals. We expect that there is a learning curve for the new locals. The goal of moving here is to unplug from the rat race and embrace life in the slow lane. Indigenous Nevada County people and those longer term locals know that small businesses are the backbone of this county. How is that forgotten? Now facing extreme financial hardship, we don't want to close this fall, but will have no choice. Please don't let this unique archive go because it can never be replaced.