2020 year-end report Archives - St. Johns Boosters

Boosters 2020 Year-End Report and Events Roundup

Our small business owners experienced a year of unfathomable challenges – from a global pandemic, to toxic smoke, to civil unrest, to our houseless crisis – yet though it all, they faced it with resilience, creativity, and compassion. We could not wish for a better and more supportive community than St Johns. For all of the hardship this past year, there were moments of gratitude and joy that will not be forgotten, and we will carry this strength into the coming years as we rebuild and re-emerge stronger than ever.

The theme that kept us going was “St Johns Together” #stjohnstogether

As the Boosters, we were challenged to put on our creative hats as well. In March, we shifted our monthly membership meetings to Zoom and hosted guest speakers including Prosper Portland, OSHA, PBOT, The Talented X, IRCO, and Do Good Multnomah. We created a St Johns Business Owners Forum on Facebook, a private group where business owners ask each other questions and share resources. We created a “live listing” of all businesses updated with their hours, links and special services, and sent out a mailer with a list of open businesses to remind the community to support local. We created graphics that our retail businesses could post to communicate safety measures to customers as they navigated limited opening protocols.

Thank you to all of our volunteers this past year – we could not have done all of this without you!

I Am a Small Business on Instagram Live!

Watch Liz Smith interview Annalisa Romano owner of RoM Shoes.

Starting this Friday November 20, we are launching a new interview series “I Am A Small Business” on Instagram Live. Earlier this year, Venture Portland came up with the “I Am A Small Business” social media campaign to highlight local businesses, and we thought it would be great to turn that idea into interviews, reminding everyone that by supporting our small businesses, you are supporting the people that own them.

Our President Liz Smith will host a guest each week, representing different businesses in our district. The first guest will be Annalisa from RoM Shoes. It’ll be a casual conversation and a chance for you to spend time “in” the district from the safety of your home! Tune in each Friday on Instagram.

James John School StoryWalk®:

Began December 7, 2020

From James John PTA

Join us for our first StoryWalk®!

You can start the book Moon Rope (in Spanish and in English) Monday, December 7th and the pages will be up in the business windows until January 7th so no rush to get through it. Two Rivers Bookstore and Revolutions Bookshop both have copies of the book at their location so if you’d like to purchase it please check with those stores while on your walk! Spread the word to your friends in the area so they have something fun to do with their kids!

Abajo en español

Únete a nosotros en nuestro primer StoryWalk ®!

Puede comenzar el libro Moon Rope (en español e inglés) el lunes 7 de diciembre y las páginas estarán en las ventanas comerciales hasta el 7 de enero, por lo que no hay prisa. Two Rivers Books y Revolutions Bookshop tienen copias del libro en su ubicación, así que si quieres comprarlo, por favor, compruébalo con esas tiendas mientras estás de paseo! Pasa la voz a tus amigos en el área para que tengan algo divertido que hacer con sus hijos!

Participating businesses:

Home for the Holidays

Put Your Money Where Your Heart Is, Shop Local

We can do this, St. Johns! Your support means everything to your local small businesses, especially right now.

Check out our St. Johns Business Listings to see how easy it is to eat, shop, and get services, often without having to leave your home!

Here is what you can do:

Shop online and choose pickup, delivery or shipping
Call in and order takeout directly
Prepay now for future purchases
Engage on social media and review sites
Have patience and respect business protocols.

Deanna Cantrell Photography

Support for Small Business in Portland:

Venture Portland
Here For Po r tland
Prosper Portland‘s Shop Small PDX
PDXSOS
Bricks Need Mortar
Mercatus PDX
Indigenous Marketplace
Travel Portland
Blackpdx.com
St Johns Center for Opportunity

Light Up St. Johns

Some things change, some remain the same, and there is no year like this one to drive that home!

While we will NOT be having our traditional tree lighting ceremony and event this year, there are still ways that we are going to make the district feel warm, festive and inviting.

Tree lights in the downtown corridor of the district thanks to generous donations from Ace Hardware and JR Simplot, week of 11/16.
Holiday Tree in the Plaza from Bays Family Farm, week of 11/23.
“Make at home” ornament kits from IQ Credit Union, for the kids to decorate at home and place on the tree throughout the season, week of 11/23. Pickup locations are IQ Credit Union, Metamorphic, Novedades Prado, Two Rivers Bookstore, Burgerville, Tre Bone, Salty Teacup, Swap n Play, Block Bikes, and RoM Shoes.

Christmas Tree with lights in the St. Johns Plaza — St. Johns lights up for the holidays!

Instead of passing out our local donation cans for the tree lights, we would prefer that you spend your money in the district. The most important thing you can do this season is support your local stores and businesses. For many, it will make a difference in whether they are still with us in 2021. Many offer contactless, curbside pickup, delivery, shipping, gift cards, and other options in compliance with Governor Brown’s mandated statewide Two Week Freeze (November 18-Dec 2).

Click here for our live, updated local business listing with hours, special services and links.

Don’t see your business or need us to update your information? Email info@stjohnsboosters.org

Support Our Community

Every year at our Tree Lighting Event, we offer booths to community organizations. Even though we are not having the event this year, you can still get your holiday decor and support our young people!

Cub Scouts — Cub Scout Pack 52 Wreath Fundraiser

Lunch & Learn Series NEW

Navigating PUA Applications

Screen recording of the December 16th Lunch & Learn on Zoom

Thank you to member Carol Tricoche for a great presentation! There is a link to the slide deck in the YouTube video description. Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube Channel to be notified when we have new content!

Learn more about Carol and her business Carol’s Escapes Travel here.

We would like to make this a monthly series! Let us know if you have a skill or topic to share with our business community by emailing info@stjohnsboosters.org with the subject “Lunch and Learn”.

Boo-sters Halloween in St. Johns

We always look forward to Halloween in the district, which is usually the time of year when we do our annual Trick or Treat Walk and thousands of trick-or-treaters walk through our streets and receive candy from our many street-facing businesses. Of course, drawing crowds is not what we want to do during a pandemic, but the businesses felt strongly that they still wanted to do something fun for the kids, so we came up with some interactive yet distanced activities spread over the weeks leading up to Halloween.

Pumpkin Giveaway & Decorating Contest:

Began October 19th, 2021

2020 Champion Pumpkin Decorating Contest

In the early 1990s, The Boosters used to give away pumpkins in conjunction with a carving contest put on by the Foot Patrol. We thought it would be great to bring this back, but in a new way:

Pick up a pumpkin at participating businesses between October 19-October 31st (while supplies last!)
Decorate them at home – carve, paint, decorate however you like!
Post a public photo to Instagram using the hashtag #stjohnsboo and tag the business where you got the pumpkin.
On October 31st, winners will be selected and receive prizes!

Thank you to our donors!

Topaz Farm on Sauvie Island generously donated 100 of their beautiful pumpkins to our district and we can’t thank them enough!

A Nice Lady in St. Johns created some custom prizes for the kids that we know they are going to love!

Pumpkin Pickup Locations

Oregonians Credit Union 7825 N. Lombard, hours: M-Th: 9:00a – 5:00p, Fridays: 9:00a – 6:00p
Reggie Guyton State Farm Insurance 8180 N. Lombard, hours: M-F 9:00a – 5:00p
IQ Credit Union 8191 N. Lombard #102, hours: M-F 9:30a – 5:30p
A Nice Lady in St. Johns 7227 N. Philadelphia #102, hours: M-F 10:00a – to 6:00p, Sat 10:00a – 1:00pm

Scavenger Hunt: October 29th – November 1st

Our team of volunteers has been busy putting together a fun scavenger hunt game for the kids! It will be over 3 days to have time to get all of the clues and to visit the stores during different times to allow social distancing. Remember to wear your face masks in addition to your Halloween masks!

The contest begins at the start of business on Thursday 10/29 and goes until 11/1, or until we run out of candy! Print out as many sheets as you like, but try to limit prizes to one bag of candy per family so that everyone has a chance to participate.

Print out the scavenger hunt sheet, or pick it up at one of the participating businesses.
Look for decorations/clues in the business’s windows. They will be designated with a Boosters logo so you will know it is an official clue! (Note: since the clues will be in store windows, you can go anytime, not just during store hours!)
Answer the questions on the scavenger hunt sheet. Don’t forget to check the back for a fun puzzle!
Once you have completed the entire sheet, you can turn in your sheet to one of the businesses and receive a pre-packaged bag of candy.

Download Scavenger Hunt Pages here:

Scavenger Hunt Sheet Page 1, 1-page PDF
Scavenger Hunt Sheet Page 2, Witches Hat 1-page PDF

Participating Businesses

Good luck, be safe and have fun!!

St. Johns Bites:

September 15th – October 15th

We had over 90 entries and 12 winners who each got a $50 gift certificate to the business in their photo. Check our Instagram to see who won.

Shop small, support local and win gift cards! Support St. Johns businesses by participating in our 2^nd Annual St. Johns Bites. Take a photo of your meal or drink from any local St. Johns restaurant, bar or café and post it to Instagram using #stjohnsbites – make sure your post is public!

Each week, 3 participants will win a $50 gift card to the business they posted a photo of. Winners will be announced every Tuesday, with the first winner announced on September 22^nd.

Businesses are encouraged to promote the event by using the following marketing materials:

Poster
Instagram friendly slideshow

Artwork by Alshiref Design

Google My Business Presentation

On Tuesday, August 25th, the St. Johns Boosters Business Association hosted a mixer for businesses to learn more about Google My Business. Click here to view the presentation slide deck.

Supporting Local Business During COVID-19

During COVID-19, it’s important for our community to support one another. The St. Johns Boosters Business Association has assembled a list of customer-facing businesses that are open in compliance with Governor Kate Brown’s Stay Home, Save Lives executive order. This list details special procedures and new options for customers (ie curbside pickup, takeout).

Click here to find out which St. Johns businesses are open. Are you a business owner taking special precautions and offering new options for customers? Email us at info@stjohnsboosters.org to get your information added to the list.

We also invite you to be a part of our #iamasmallbusiness campaign. Created by Venture Portland, this social media campaign reminds our community that by supporting our small businesses, you are supporting the people that own them. This campaign is open to all businesses within our boundaries. To have your business featured, email info@stjohnsboosters.org with a photo of yourself (preferably at your business), your business name, description, social media handles, and any special information that people should know.

Thank you to residents for supporting your business community during this time. We’ll get through this together, St. Johns!

#stjohnstogether

The Boosters are launching a new campaign titled #stjohnstogether, encouraging businesses and residents alike to show their support for the place we love. Even in times of crisis, it’s important to remind ourselves that as a community, we stand together.

Ways to show your support:

Check on your neighbors
Tip extra generously
Purchase gift certificates
Interact with businesses’ social media
Write a review and leave 5 star ratings online

Ways to promote #stjohnstogether:

Post our Instagram-ready graphic and text to your social media account.
Print our poster and hang it in your storefront window.

Have kids at home that need something to do? Print some #stjohnstogether hearts for them to color – or use chalk to add some hearts of your own to our community’s sidewalks.

Use #stjohnstogether on your posts – we want to see how you’re showing your support!

(graphic by our intern Karl Hayes of Wayfinding Academy)

Boosters Marketing Squad

As businesses have rapidly had to shift to online platforms in order to offer customers alternative ways to shop, the Boosters have put together a team of local consultants we like to call the Boosters Virtual Marketing Squad, who are ready to guide you so that you can get your business online presence up to speed quickly and easily, for free.

Complete the English version of the form and let us know how we can help you.

Hemos reunido un equipo de profesionales y voluntarios locales, que nos gusta llamar El Escuadrón de Marketing Virtual, que están listos par guiarlo para que pueda acelerar su negocio de manera rapida y facil, gratis.