Economic Development News

The Brockville & District Chamber of Commerce has partnered with Downtown Brockville and the City of Brockville to bring back the popular “Shop Where Your Heart Is” envelope program. Introduced last year, this program encourages residents to shop at local businesses this holiday season and rewards them with chances to win great local prizes. The more stores they support, the more chances they have to win.

Last year the combined value of all receipts collected through this program totaled over $100,000 of direct local spending!

This year we will be running the program all December long – starting on November 26 with the opening of the River of Lights and ending on January 2. Shoppers will collect receipts of their local purchases made during that period; every 3 receipts will earn them 1 ballot towards weekly prizes and a grand “Brockville Winter Welcome” prize package. We will provide you with the envelopes to give out to your customers when they make a purchase in your store. Additional envelopes will be available for pick up from the Chamber office, DBIA, and City Hall. The drop-off box for envelopes will be available 24/7 just outside of the Chamber office on Market Street West.

If you are interested in sponsoring this initiative by donating a prize towards the weekly or grand prize draw, we would love to hear from you. We are hoping for contributions that fit the Brockville Winter Welcome theme (think cozy, winter staycation vibes), but we are open to ideas! By making a prize donation of item(s) valued at $25 to fit the theme, we will purchase a $25 gift card from your business to add to the total pool of prizes (budget is limited on a first come first serve basis, so don't delay). Deadline to sign up is November 10^th.

Benefits to sponsoring:

• Be featured on the Shop Where Your Heart Is website landing page (part of the Brockville & District Chamber of Commerce website)
• Be featured in the prize promotions
• Be a part of the Shop Where Your Heart Is campaign

Please contact: 

Lesley White
lwhite@brockville.com
613-342-8772 x4439

For Restaurants and Cafés:

In addition to the envelope program, participants can earn an additional entry by purchasing a hot beverage to-go from a participating local restaurant and then visiting the River of Lights. Participating restaurants will give out a branded hot beverage sleeve with to-go orders during the month of December promoting the River of Lights and Shop Where Your Heart Is. Participants will scan the sleeve to learn how to gain an additional ballot in the Shop Where Your Heart Is weekly prize draw.

If your restaurant would like to participate in this part of the program, please let us know so we can order enough sleeves and include your business in the promotion. To participate, you must:

• Offer some type of hot beverage to-go (hot chocolate, hot apple cider, coffee, or other specialty drinks)
  • There is no requirement that you be open past 5pm each day (when the River of Lights begins each night) however, we would love to have some of restaurants that are so that we can send people your way before they go to see the show
• Include the sleeve on to-go orders during the period of November 26-January 2 (these will be provided to you at no cost). The sleeve fits 12oz-20oz hot cups. May fit some 10oz, will not fit 8oz. If you use smaller cups but would like to participate, we can arrange to have a paper ballot at your location instead.

Benefits to your restaurant:

• Be featured on the River of Lights website landing page as a suggested stop (including your hours of operation) as well as the Shop Where Your Heart Is landing page on the Chamber's website
• Receive a free supply of coffee sleeves
• Be a part of the Shop Where Your Heart Is campaign

Please contact: 

Lesley White
lwhite@brockville.com
613-342-8772 x4439

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