13 out of our current 22 tote bag donation spots are small businesses. From pet products to pasta sauce, reuse to renovation, basket to quilt - our small business supporters have one thing in common: they make time and precious floor space to help fight hunger and help heal the environment.
Space is such a precious gift - a few inches on a counter for a donation box to support a fundraiser for a local family that survived a house fire, display space devoted to flyers and posters about local event, and so many other ways in which very much needed space is "donated" to give back to the neighbors living near the business.
It can be a blessing to work with a company where the decider is right in front of you and doesn't require 3 levels of approval to offer this gift. And it can be a blessing when the decider personally makes an effort to promote a project or collection - sending tweets and blast email messages late in the night when they should be handling paperwork or on their way home to their own families. These personal efforts make a huge difference to those of us who need to get our message - our opportunity to help - in front of other neighbors.
Find out what's happening in Forest Hills-Regent Squarewith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Small Business Saturday is one way in which we can all say "thank you" to the businesses that give back to us year round.
We are proud to be supported by the following local businesses.
Find out what's happening in Forest Hills-Regent Squarewith free, real-time updates from Patch.
- Pittsburgh Public Market – Strip District
- Animal Nature – Regent Square
- The Toonseum - Downtown
- Bistro-to-Go – Northside
- East End Food Cooperative – Point Breeze
- Construction Junction – Point Breeze
- Pittsburgh Center for Creative Reuse – Point Breeze
- Quilters Corner – Finleyville
- Piecing It Together – Ross Township
- Basket of Pittsburgh – Robinson
- Home Consignments – Swissvale
- restaurant ECHO – Cranberry Township
- The Cotton Factory – online (East End based)
59% of the spaces accepting your tote bag donations could fairly have said "no thank you" and used the space to put out another display, another item, or store another box. Instead, they graciously offer up this gift to help our neighbors.
We encourage you to support these and other small businesses this weekend and throughout the holidays.
Don't forget to take your reusable shopping bags for your purchases and perhaps donate a gently used bag to the cause. It is a great time to purchase a promotional bag and show your support for your favorite business each time you leave the house with their bag!
A complete list (and map) of tote bag drop-off spots is available on our website.