The Greater Oklahoma City Chamber is encouraging residents to take pride in their community and rally together to save small businesses.

As June begins, the Chamber is kicking off its Stand Tall and Shop Small for OKC campaign. With the help of the OKC’s district leaders, the Chamber wants residents to give a much-needed boost to the businesses that make the city unique.

“Our staff has heard heart-breaking stories from our beloved shop owners about what the coronavirus pandemic has done to their business,” said Roy Williams, president and CEO of the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber. “We were motivated by their struggles to figure out what we can do to help our small businesses. It’s those businesses that make Oklahoma City not only a wonderful place to live, but a great destination.”

Directors from the city’s districts have expressed their excitement about the campaign, especially as many areas see more of their businesses begin to open in June. Because each director knows their district the best, each district is encouraged to promote the campaign in a way that fits their area.

“The idea behind the campaign is not only to promote small business, but encourage people to take pride in the city they love to boast about to their friends,” Williams said. “We all have friends that work at these shops as well and they need our help. Whether that means buying from our shop owners online, scheduling a time to visit their store, or actually popping in, we all need to work together to make sure we have a thriving city when this is over and the Chamber is ready to lead the charge.”

Taking pride in Oklahoma City by shopping small, local businesses is a direct way to fund vital city services. While the sales tax collection has been down because of the pandemic, for every dollar spent at a locally-owned store, 67 cents stay in the community. Money spent at independent stores is multiplied in the community because it helps pay wages for local residents, who have such pride in their city they support local businesses as well.

The city’s biggest fan, Mayor David Holt, is looking forward to continuing to his support for Oklahoma City’s unique businesses.

“I think it’s clear from my social media that my family and I are big fans of our local shops,” said Holt. “We’ve been trying to support local as much as we can, whether it’s buying a Hall’s Pizza kit to make our own pies at home or getting Bar Arbolada cheeseburgers for a picnic at beautiful Scissortail Park. Our family wants to support other families and I’m thrilled the Chamber is launching this campaign to encourage our citizens to do the same.”

The Chamber will promote the campaign and the districts’ Stand Tall and Shop Small for OKC activities on its social media accounts, which can be found on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram. People are encouraged to follow the districts’ social media accounts as well to keep up with their activities. A complete list of the districts, their top things to do and their attractions can be found at https://www.visitokc.com/about-okc/okc-districts/. #ShopSmallForOKC