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Greetings!
We are happy to report that 'buying local' is really catching on and that the work of Cambridge Local First and the national `Buy Local Movement' is having impressive results. Conversations with our member business owners report a holiday season that had sales up 3-20%--people are indeed shifting their shopping! Even more important is that many of the shoppers say they are making extra efforts to shop locally because they value what local businesses bring to the community and our economy. This is good news for Cambridge businesses and good news for Cambridge!
A new study out of Maine, shows that a 10% shift to buying locally would create an additional $127 million of economic activity in Portland, Maine. This study produced by the Maine Center for Economic Policy (MECEP) has found that, on a dollar-for-dollar basis, the local economic impact of independently owned businesses in Portland is significantly greater than that of national chains. MECEP found that every $100 spent at locally owned businesses contributes an additional $58 to the local economy. By comparison, $100 spent at a representative national chain store in Portland yields just $33 in local economic impact.
The work we are doing in Cambridge through the help of each one of you is creating the same impact. More jobs are being created, more money is staying in the community, the health and welfare of all is significantly increased. Let's keep up this important work and thank you for all you do!
Locally yours,
Janneke House, Executive Director
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CAMBRIDGE LOCAL FIRST NEWS & EVENTS
Think Local Thank Local Party!
 Tuesday, January 24th 5:00 - 7:00 pm Christopher's Restaurant 1920 Massachusetts Avenue Our Fifth Annual "Think Local Thank Local" campaign had a record breaking 41 businesses participate! These CLF businesses donated a percentage of their revenues during the week after Thanksgiving to the Cambridge Housing Assistance Fund (CHAF). CHAF raises funds to assist the homeless and near homeless with the startup costs of securing permanent housing. We invite you to join us in celebrating this campaign, thanking our wonderful participants, and continuing the important work of CHAF. Our businesses raised about $8,000! We also appreciate Jodi Robbins of William Henry Furniture, who is the new chair of Think Local Thank Local. You'll be able to meet and network with several board members from CHAF, your fellow CLF members, and other community leaders. It will be a fun and meaningful event at one of Cambridge's finest restaurants complete with tasty hors d'œuvres and a cash bar.
Cambridge Local First is #1 in Google
Did you know that when you do a search in Google for Cambridge Local, our website is number 1?
After a successful first year with our new website, we are ready to ramp things up for 2012 - but we need your help! We are focusing on improving our online directory. The system we have in place is powerful, but it needs your business information to be as useful as possible!
Did you know every member has the ability to log in, set up, and maintain their own listing? The system is quite simple and user-friendly, but we are taking it a step further.
You can log-in to the system at the bottom of the page under the search box called "member log-in." It will ask you for your email and you must put in the email address we have on file for you, which is the one you receive our newsletters. Follow the instructions and you can set up an account to change and add information to your listing. If you need any help, simply email listings@cambridgelocalfirst.org with any information where we can walk you through the process or even take care of adding it to the system for you!
The more information the Directory has, the more useful it will be for users looking for what YOU offer. You will find a list of Directory fields below. We strongly encourage you to take a few extra minutes to think of valuable Keywords, or search terms, that you think folks might enter into the directory when looking for an item or service. Each listing can include up to 20 keywords.
Business Name
Description (max 255 characters)
Address
Neighborhood
Phone
Email
Web site
Facebook
Twitter
Hours
Owner
Logo (attach image to email)
Keywords
Categories (see in sidebar here: http://cambridgelocalfirst.org/business-directory/)
Save The Date! Next Business Improvement Seminar on March 1st!  | |
Amy Carlin with Michael Kanter of Cambridge Naturals at the Employment Law Seminar last fall.
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We are excited to bring back Amy Carlin, presenter of our popular Employment Law Seminar Series, to speak on "Discrimination and Harassment in the Workplace". This is a very important topic and one that is not addressed often enough in businesses.
Save the Date for this seminar on March 1st from 9-11 am. Registration details and location to follow soon. |
CLF MEMBER NEWS
S+H Construction Named Best Of Boston Home 2012
S+H Construction, Inc. one of the greater Boston area's premier residential renovation and custom home building companies, is pleased to be named "Best Builder" 2012 by Best of Boston HOME Magazine. This achievement marks the fifth "Best of" honor for S+H, having been recognized in 2011 as "Best Transitional Contractor," 2010 as "Best Classic Contractor," 2008 as "Best Kitchen Remodeler," and most notably, in 2007 as the first home industry recipient of the "Best of Boston" for "Best General Contractor." S+H Construction is located at 26 New Street in Cambridge, MA. For more information, please call (617) 876-8286, or visit the company website at www.shconstruction.com.
Call For Entries For The Cambridge Science Festival
The Cambridge Science Festival (April 20-29, 2012) is a 10-day celebration calling on community, university, cultural, and business organizations in and around Cambridge to engage the public in their work and passions in science, technology, engineering, and math. Come share your passions and fun with our local communities in engaging activities: talks, workshops, tours, demonstrations, and more that only you can imagine! Contact Sung Kim at sungmi@mit.edu, or 617-324-4379 with any questions.
Cambridge Local First is a wonderful resource because it creates opportunities for businesses to connect with each other. Bedworks has created a special section on their website devoted to referencing other CLF members in the area. They have asked other businesses to link to their website in return. Please visit: www.bedworks.net/central-square.php
Welcome New CLF Member Greengalgh Gardens!
We would like to welcome Peggy Lynch of Greengalgh Gardens. Greengalgh Gardens creates and renovates gardens with input from owners which are pleasing, sustainable and low maintenance. For more information, check out www.greenhalghgardens.com.
Welcome New CLF Member Super Home Repair!
We would also like to welcome Super Home Repair in Inman Square located on 156 Cambridge St. Owner, Michael Turner is an expert in home repair and renovations. For more information, check out: www.superhomerepair.com
Emerson Media is an innovative web design and development firm based in Cambridge. They design and build some of the finest websites and applications on the internet. For more information, please visit: www.emersonmedia.com |
CAMBRIDGE CONNECTIONS
Next ALL Local Dinner hosted by Nourish The nextALLocal Dinner is fast approaching! Register now to sign up for this month's luscious meal at nourish restaurant on January 23, 2012 . Treat yourself and your friends to a sumptuously crafted meal with entrée options that include nourish's Famous Meatloaf , Local Seafood , orLocal Vegan Tempeh .
Cost: $45 for food and food gratuity
Funds Benefit: Boston Local Food Program Registration: These events sell out quickly! Register now by clicking here!
Upcoming Workshops
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City of Cambridge
Cambridge Business Assistance Info SessionStaff from the City's Economic Development Division will discuss the variety of programs that the City offers to residents and business owners interested in starting or growing their business. Learn about future workshops and commercial programs available. - Date: Monday February 6, 2012
- Time: 6:30 P. M to 7:30 P. M.
- Cost: Free to all.
- Location: City Hall Annex, 344 Broadway, 2nd Floor Conference Room. Directions and Map.
- Preregistration: To pre-register please contact Rona Holmes at 617/349-4637 orrholmes@cambridgema.gov or call Pardis Saffari at 617/349-4654.
- Presented By: City of Cambridge Economic Development Division Staff.
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SUBMISSION GUIDELINESDo you have news or an event that you want included in the upcoming CLF Newsletter? Please send a 2-3 sentence blurb by the first Friday of every month.
Articles and press releases can be emailed to cambridgelf@gmail.com
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Out of the Local Business Directories?
Need a plexi-glass retail display case for your directories?
Please let us know! We have distribution points for pick-up or we're happy to deliver.
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