Shop Westwood - 'The 3/50 Project'

Hello. My name is Eugene Callaghan. I'm the co-owner of Irish Eyes Imports with my wife Tara Callaghan. We moved our store from Ridgewood last year to Westwood for many reasons. One of the main reasons was Westwood’s retail mix of stores and the town’s vision to protect the retail downtown. When we moved here to Westwood I wanted to be more involved than what I had been in the past, so I joined the Chamber of Commerce. Long story short, I was nominated president. One of the projects we are going to start is a “shop local” program called “The 3/50 Project” that educates the business owners and the local consumers on the importance and impact of shopping local. 

“The 3/50 Project” is pronounced “the three 50 project” (the slash is silent). The idea is to commit $50 each month to three locally owned businesses. It’s not a hard fast line but a guide to help consumers to rethink shopping local. One powerful factoid to remember about this program is that for every $100 spent locally, $68 returns to the community through taxes, payroll and other expenditures. Additionally, if that same amount is spent at a national chain only $43 returns to the community and guess what the community gets in return for shopping online. You guessed it, nothing. So remember to shop local and shop Westwood.