“What three local businesses would you miss the most if they were gone?” This question was asked of Dr. Josh Click of the Click Family Chiropractic Clinic in Grove City when he first learned about the 3/50 Project. “What a great question,” Dr. Click replied. “I personally know of many great businesses here in town that I would miss if they were to close for some reason. You take so many things for granted, like my favorite local stores will always be there. I guess in this challenging economy, you just can’t assume that anymore.”  

The 3/50 Project, a program developed in Minneapolis earlier this year by founder Cinda Baxter, began as a way to bring about a “meeting of the minds between two groups that held valuable stakes in the (economic) game---small business owners and members of their communities.”  Baxter soon developed the 3/50 Project which is simply a challenge: “We ask consumers to think about which three stores they’d miss if they disappeared, then remind them to return there,” explains Baxter. “Shoppers have become so rooted in thinking about the essentials that they’ve forgotten about the little gift store on the corner whose owner remembers their name.”  The project is simple: pick three stores, spend $50 a month in total in those three stores, and help save the economy.  

Dr. Josh, as he is known by most, feels strongly about Grove City. “This is a family and community-oriented area, best schools, beautiful downtown and walking- friendly neighborhoods, and it is close to other important regions. I want to ensure that the core values of the community stay that way, and one of the ways to do this is to help support our local businesses.”   

Drs. Josh and Benna run Click Family Chiropractic, 220 North Broad Street, a clinic where affordability and individual service are core values. The Clicks are invaluable members of the community. And they are eager to support the “bricks and mortar” businesses of Grove City. These independent stores are at the heart of any community, and create the core of Olde Town Grove City.  

So Dr. Josh has agreed to take the pledge. To go along with the 3/50 Project, he will pledge to spend at least $50 total in these three stores every month. “This is what I can do: save my local economy three stores at a time. I like the idea that there is something I can do to help my community continue to flourish. My wife and I will still continue to shop in the larger stores of our community as well. We all just feel a little helpless in this economy, but this is something easy to do that is very practical.” 

“My challenge to Grove City is to pass this project along to all of your neighbors and friends and to keep the project going, even in other communities.”  

What three businesses would you miss if they disappeared? Olde Town Grove City is sponsoring the 3/50 project in our community in an effort to educate consumers about the advantages of supporting independent businesses and the quality of life these businesses bring to our town. Contact Olde Town to let them know that you are interested in taking the pledge as well, and helping to “save the economy, three stores at a time,”:

 

 

Doctor David M. Dayton of Grove City Named Statewide Volunteer of the Year by Pennsylvania Downtown Center

Doctor David M. Dayton of Grove City was presented with the award for Volunteer of the Year at Pennsylvania            Downtown Center’s (PDC) annual statewide Townie Awards gala. The Townie Awards are a festive and venerable tradition designed to recognize the commonwealth’s core communities and individuals for creation and implementation of programming and events that exemplify the goals of PDC’s community revitalization mission. All of Pennsylvania Downtown Center’s 270 member organizations are eligible to win, making the Townies a competitive award process each year.

“Dr. Dayton has been a longstanding contributor to and participant in the community revitalization efforts of Olde Town Grove City,” said Bill Fontana, PDC’s executive director. “The laudable and visible improvements throughout Grove City are testament to a community with a clear vision for its future, and Dr. Dayton has been the unwavering catalyst and motivator of this,” said Fontana.

Dr. Dayton received the Olde Town Townie at last year’s Olde Town Gala, making him eligible for the statewide award. He has been with Grove City Revitalization Inc., the directing organization over Olde Town Grove City, from its inception in 2001 and has taken tremendous leadership throughout. He served as Chair from 2002 to 2005, then came back to serve again from 2006-2007 during the crucial times of developing the Main Street Program, hiring a Main Street manager, implementing the $3.2 million streetscape revitalization and finalizing all of the details. Additionally, he has had helped lead Grove City Revitalization, Inc., in the recent renovation of a downtown parking lot. Dr. Dayton helped lead the fundraising efforts of GCRI, and a local citizen and an organization stepped up to donate $150,000 to create Joseph D. Monteleone Youth Festival Park, which includes all new parking, the George Junior Republic performance gazebo and new landscaping, complimenting the recent revitalization project.

“It is obvious how much Dr. Dayton cares for the downtown community,” proclaimed GCRI Board member Leann Smith. “He still walks the streets, picking up trash and even unfurling our American flags from their posts. Dr. Dayton supports Olde Town in all ways, with his avid volunteerism and with his generous financial investment.  He has represented Olde Town to the Borough Council as well as advocating Olde Town to the press. He has invested literally thousands of hours in our community and Olde Town Grove City simply would not be what it is today without Dave Dayton.”

The Townie Awards are a part of PDC’s annual statewide conference, which is held in a different commonwealth community each year in order to highlight the respective city or town’s accomplishments in community and neighborhood revitalization. This year’s conference, held in Johnstown, was attended by more than 200 individuals, including borough and municipal officials, experts in community planning and landscape architecture, and dozens of Main Street and Elm Street managers. Highlights of the conference included nationally-recognized speakers, more than two dozen educational sessions, a community night at Point Stadium and mobile workshops to the neighboring town of Bedford, a Main Street community.