Clarendon Hills Couple Hold Contest To Find New Owner For Their La Grange Specialty Toy and Gift Store

For $200 and a well-crafted essay, you could WIN your very own specialty toy and gift store in the heart of La Grange, Illinois!

The owners of Green It Up! Gift Stop in La Grange are launching an essay contest where the winner will receive their 1845 square feet specialty toys and gift store!

When a good friend told Clarendon Hills resident Leah Kroeger about an essay contest to win the Downers Grove business “Borrowed Earth Café”, she was intrigued. Leah wasn’t interested in winning the restaurant, but rather using this approach to find the new owner of her family’s specialty retail store, Green It Up! Gift Stop, located in the heart of downtown La Grange. Leah and her husband Mark, along with their daughter Becca as manager, opened their eco-friendly toy and gift store on December 1, 2012, on the day of the village of La Grange’s Hometown Holiday Walk. It was the perfect introduction into the wonderful community that is and surrounds La Grange. The way that they have been embraced by the community, the friends and connections they’ve made, has been an amazing experience. They are a family owned and operated store with a strong focus on family, ways to bring them closer through games and activities as well as ways for them to live and make healthier choices in their daily life.

What Leah and Becca have to say: We love our customers, and they see how passionate we are about bringing toys, candles, apparel, lotions and more into their homes that do NOT bring carcinogens or harmful effects into our lives and they’ve embraced that as well. We’ve listened to our customers suggestions and along with eco-friendly merchandise, we provide a variety of merchandise that supports Fair Trade, Made in the USA, and companies that Give Back, such as Bears For Humanity and their Buy 1/Give 1 program. Our annual fall Toy Drive also supports Lurie Children’s Hospital and the Ronald McDonald Houses. We’ve learned so much ourselves throughout this process and it’s been a privilege to share that knowledge with our customers.

While we have loved the time developing, building, and growing our store, our other business interests and family are keeping us too busy to give our baby the attention it deserves. After much research, we discovered that more business and home-owners throughout the country are using essay contests as an unconventional way to find the new owners. Pay the required entry fee, stay within the word limit, and you can enter contests to win everything from a 35-acre horse farm in Virginia, to a home in Indiana, to a yoga studio in California, and the recently completed Bed and Breakfast in Maine. We see it as a way for us to pay it forward by giving someone the opportunity to have their own business and build their own dream who might not otherwise be able to, without the burden of a hefty financial expense, such as the start-up costs affiliated with opening a new store. The winner will receive the assets of the business, as listed in the essay contest rules and entry form, and won’t have to worry about all of that - we’ve done it for them! For only $200, the winner will receive an established business and have a really great chance at success! We would love nothing more than to see new owner take it over who has the same vision and passion that we have, and continue to be a vibrant part of the community.

The essay contest is set up so that everyone will have a fair, equal, and amazing opportunity to win as only 733 entries will be accepted! Because of legal issues, the essay contest must be based on skill and not luck. In no more than 500 words, send us your story, how winning would impact your life, and enough details to let us know you have what it takes to run the store! Entries must be postmarked by September 1, 2015, although the contest may close early if we reach the allotted # of essays.) Click to find out the Official Essay Contest and Rules, facts, and other information: https://winyourowntoystore.weebly.com

This contest has been designed so that the winner will take ownership just as the biggest selling season of the year is taking hold. The contest runs through September 1, 2015 and must be postmarked no later than this date. We are excited for this journey that will bring us to the new owners of Green It Up! Gift Stop!

Click a link below for official contest entry rules & printable entry form.

Contest Website: https://winyourowntoystore.weebly.com

Find us on Facebook: https//facebook.com/greenitupgiftstop

Follow our Contest Facebook Page, where updates will be found: Win Green It Up Gift Stop

Link to Official Essay Contest and Rules: https://app.box.com/s/1pppjcuki89xx1c1onawp07trs0jfkf7

My SiteFor $200 and a well-crafted essay, you could be the owner of your very own specialty toy and gift store in the heart of La Grange, Illinois!Go ahead, bring your dreams to life by entering today!WINYOUROWNTOYSTORE.WEEBLY.COM