In Edmonton and across the world, people are making a genuine effort to support those around them, and to support themselves in this time of crisis. There are a thousand small actions shared each day between people who are otherwise hunkered down and in social distancing mode. Together, these small actions are adding up, and the result is a ton of local goodness that we are proud to highlight this month through a project we’re calling:
The Local Goodness Project
Through daily shared acts of community solidarity during the month of May, The Local Good will be rallying our online community to draw attention to (and help out) small, local, and community-minded businesses, non-profits and individuals. We’ll be using our calendar of Local Goodness to share daily tips and inspiration so you can join in. Each week we’ll be focusing on another theme, and sharing how residents like YOU can start promoting local goodness through your own actions and influence. And to add to the goodness, we’ll be entering anyone who posts using our campaign hashtag in a draw to win a gift basket brimming with local goodies at the end of each week!
Once the word is out, anyone who wants to join will be able to jump in and contribute their time, money, voice, or hands to the community-supporting activities we plan each day under the hashtag #LocalGoodnessYEG, so be sure to watch and share!
In doing so, you’ll be taking your first steps in creating a collective hub where local goodness can shine—especially as we confront the difficult new realities of our COVID-present. We’re even bringing on good locals to help us bring some new voices to the issues we talk about during each week.
Keen participants can also volunteer to help with that or The Local Goodness Project itself, just by clicking here and signing up!
Otherwise, keep your eyes on our blog and social media streams for daily resources and how-to-support-local inspiration, and follow along as we highlight the ways community members like you can give back.
How we think it will help:
When we share Edmonton-specific information and ideas for supporting local during a crisis, we begin to surpass the very boundaries that crisis creates. These sources will be helpful in the moment, and in the future as we continue to rediscover the ways we can use our time, money, and voices to support local, while still supporting ourselves. We also believe the hashtag will act as a great hub for those looking for ways to help their neighbours when we come out of all this on the other side.
“We’re protecting each other. But now we have a chance to make those efforts known in a repository of goodness, behind the hashtag #LocalGoodnessYEG.”
Basically, we’re excited to shine a light on great Edmonton-local projects (built in response to COVID or otherwise) like Backing Locals, Here for Good, Things Are Still Open, and many more. We also want to create a space where we can crowdsource even more great ideas, and create positive peer pressure by encouraging people to share what they’re doing via our hashtag.
Finally, we’re looking to give a platform to local business owners, artists, and non-profits who want to put a call out to other Edmontonians about the specific help they’re looking for. After all, they know best what they need.
How you can help
Participate
Just follow us on social, watch out for daily #LocalGoodnessYEG inspiration and share what you’re doing that relates to the week’s theme. If you’ve got a large following or if you hold a position of influence, your participation and amplification will make a huge difference.
Partner with us
If you’re an organization that believes in supporting local goodness we would love your help covering the cost of gift baskets. If you can’t do that, you can help us spread the word and encourage your community to participate.
Volunteer
The Local Good is a totally volunteer-run organization and we’re always looking for more help. For this project we’re looking for writers, editors, researchers, designers, social media wizards, and anyone who’s enthusiastic about the idea and willing to help.
Cover Our Project
Spokespeople from The Local Good are available to take interviews about The Local Goodness Project. It’s a good news story about the Edmonton community coming together and we want to get the word out and encourage as much participation as possible.
The Local Goodness Calendar
We’re excited to be rolling out some great weekly themes over the whole month, and if you see a theme that fits your “goodness-niche” then make sure to pay extra attention! You’ll be in the great company of people across the city who are embarking on their own journey of local goodness.
And just to make sure you don’t’ miss out on anything that’s to come, here’s a calendar to keep you updated throughout the month:
Weekly Themes (and Green Drinks!)
May 1 – 7
|| Food and Drinks
May 1 |
May 2 |
May 3 |
May 4 |
May 5 |
May 6 |
May 7 |
Bakeries + Local Breadmaking |
Local Groceries + Farmer’s Markets |
Co-Gardening + Co-Composting |
Eating Local + Using Local Delivery |
Drinking Local Coffee + Local Bean Roasters |
Local Food Bank Efforts + Meals on Wheels |
Local Beverages + Beer and Breweries |
May 8 – 14
|| Grassroots Non-profits and Community Care
May 8 |
May 9 |
May 10 |
May 11 |
May 12 |
May 13 |
May 14 |
Edmonton Grassroots + Nonprofit Orgs |
Spring Cleaning and Personal Donations |
Caring about Youth in our Commuity |
Climate and the Environment |
Self-Care |
Organizations that support at-risk and Marginalized Communities |
Caremongering, and spreading the love! |
May 15 – 21
|| Small and Independent Businesses
May 15 |
May 16 |
May 17 |
May 18 |
May 19 |
May 20 |
May 21 |
Support YEG Small Business |
Vintage Stores + Antique Malls |
Support an Indigenous Business, Maker or Artist |
YEG Fashion |
Read Local + Local Bookshops |
Start-ups, Work Labs, and Entrepreneurs |
Personal Care, Health + Beauty Businesses |
May 22 – 28
|| Arts and Culture
May 22 |
May 23 |
May 24 |
May 25 |
May 26 |
May 27 |
May 28 |
Visual Arts + Visual Non-profit Artists |
Listen Local + Local Musicians |
Artisans and Makers |
Support YEGFestivals |
Support YEGFilm |
Support YEGWriters |
Support YEG Performers: Theatre and Dance |
May 27
|| Green Drinks: Local Goodness
May 29 – 31
|| Supporting frontline workers and a look back at the campaign
May 29 |
May 30 |
May 31 |
Supporting Frontline Healthcare Workers |
Minimum Wage and Advocacy for Essential Workers |
Celebratory Recap of #LocalGoodnessYEG |
So turn on your post notifications people, and prepare for 31 days of community self-love as we turn our capacity for goodness into high gear!
About The Local Good
The Local Good was founded in 2007 as a hub to help Edmontonians live more local and green lifestyles. Our mission is to make good things happen by connecting people interested in living locally and sustainably with resources and experts. We do this through our monthly Green Drinks Edmonton networking events, our Cash Mob Edmonton flash mobs that support local businesses, our blog, and our social media channels. We also founded the Edmonton Resilience Festival, which is now organized by another great, local organization: the Edmonton Permaculture Guild.