COVINGTON, Ga. — Since the COVID-19 pandemic began more than one year ago, it is no secret that small businesses have been put in a pinch. That’s why the Newton County Chamber of Commerce is rolling out a new campaign, simply called “Save Small Business – Take the Pledge.”

In conjunction with the Rockdale County Chamber and local businesses, Newton County Chamber President Debbie Harper was scheduled to officially announce the campaign’s kickoff Tuesday night as she spoke to the Covington City Council and the Newton County Board of Commissioners.

“Small businesses are the backbone of our community,” Harper said. “They need our support.”

In another form of announcing the campaign, Harper recently sat down with Lorraine Harrison of About Marketing and Brenda Landers of High Priority Plumbing to film a promotional video and discuss the initiative.

Harrison, who helped jumpstart the campaign, recalled how the idea came about.

“I was literally sitting at my computer, about to order [coffee] from Amazon … and something told me, ‘Why are you ordering this from Amazon when the coffee shop up the street has coffee beans that are just as good as what you’re ordering?’” she said. “And it hit me that during the pandemic we couldn’t get out, we couldn’t go any place, so we got in the habit of ordering online. But now that our small businesses are back open and we can get out, we need to get out of the Amazon habit and buy from our local small businesses.”

That’s when she called on the local chambers and presenting sponsor High Priority Plumbing to put a program together.

As part of the campaign, Harrison said people are asked to take a pledge to make a purchase from a small business once a week for at least a 10-week period.

“You know, they’re seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, but they need our help now,” Harrison said of small businesses.

Besides the gratification of helping local businesses stay afloat, another incentive for taking the pledge and shopping small is a chance at prizes. Anyone participating in the Save Small Business campaign can log their purchases on a special business card that can be found at the chamber and be entered to win a gift card from a local restaurant.

Shoppers are also encouraged to post pictures of their purchases to social media with the hashtag “#SaveSmallBiz.”

In addition to the campaign, small businesses may also enter to win a $5,000 SCB Video TV Marketing package giveaway sponsored by High Priority Plumbing.

Landers said High Priority Plumbing was thrilled to be a part of the campaign and looked forward to the positive results it could bring to the community.

“We just think together we can make such a difference,” Landers said. “After all we’ve been through this year, we don’t want to lose even one more small business.”

Harrison said a Small Business Expo was scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 23, from 5-7:30 p.m. at the Randal S. Mills Pavillion in Conyers. Harper said a similar event in Newton County was being planned for October and specific details would be released once finalized.

To learn more about the campaign and upcoming events to support small businesses, visit savesmallbiz.net.