Thanksgiving is the season of giving. We give our time, love, affection, and gratitude. Then, we turn our attention to gift-giving as we begin preparing for Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa.
Black Friday is the busiest shopping day of the year and big-box retailers draw large crowds with their doorbuster deals. But a movement to spend our dollars locally with small business owners has yielded a day of its own, Small Business Saturday.
We encourage you to check out the small businesses throughout Hamilton County and support our local economy. Many of these small businesses support our schools, students, and teachers. Supporting small businesses means supporting our community.
This Small Business Saturday, get a jumpstart on your holiday shopping and buy gifts that give back!
Here are small businesses and gift ideas to help support Hamilton County students:
- Help out HomeBound Books and purchase a Fireside Stories Candle from The Rustic House to help all our children have access to books.
- Purchase a hat from Hattanooga, which donates $5 from every hat sale to Hamilton Co. School programs geared towards preparing students to be workforce ready.
- Make a purchase from the Tennessee Aquarium gift shop and a portion of the proceeds go to support their educational programs.
- Stop by the Chattanooga Zoo’s gift store and a portion of the proceeds go to Zoo’s educational programs.
- Buy a gift at the Hunter Museum of American Art’s gift store and a portion of the proceeds go to support the museum’s educational programs.
- Shop or donate at Northside Neighborhood House’s Thrift Store and all of the sales support NNH programs such as Emergency Direct Assistance, Children’s Education and more.
- Supporting high-quality early education, check out Chambliss Center for Children’s Thrift Stores and help provide funds for more resources for our children.
- Buy tickets to a Junior Achievement Auction and the proceeds benefit our students!
- Buy tickets to the Chattanooga Symphony Orchestra and part of ticket sales and donated contributions support their extensive education programs that reach more than 25,000 area students a year and expose a new generation to music they may have never heard.
- Make a donation on DonorsChoose!
- Buy a gift on Amazon smiles and a percentage of anything you buy can go to benefit a school or education nonprofit.
- Some of the local nonprofits available to choose from who support education are: Chattanooga-Hamilton County Public Education Fund, Complete TN, Chattanooga Chamber Foundation, Hamilton County Schools Fund for Excellence, Chattanooga School for Liberal Arts PTA, United Way of Chattanooga, Chattanooga State Community College Foundation, Community Foundation of Greater Chattanooga, Inc., Chattanooga Prep Inc, Unity Performing Arts Foundation of Chattanooga, Chattanooga School for the Arts and Sciences PTO, Step Up Chattanooga, Glass House Collective, Signal Centers, Rivermont Elementary, East Ridge Middle School PTA, Normal Park Museum Magnet PTA
