The village of Homewood is offering a $50 Visa gift card for every $250 spent at select Homewood small businesses from Nov. 25 through Dec. 25 as part of its Unwrap Homewood program.
A complete list of the 21 businesses participating in Unwrap Homewood is available on the village website. To qualify for a Visa gift card, holiday shoppers must prove they supported three or more of the participating businesses, said Angela Mesaros, Economic and Community Development Director for the village.
Holiday shoppers participating in Unwrap Homewood must save their store receipts and mail them to Unwrap Homewood, Attn: Angela Mesaros, 2020 Chestnut Rd., Homewood, IL 60430 or email scanned copies to [email protected].
When submitting receipts, participants must include the Unwrap Homewood postcard, which can be downloaded online or picked up at participating businesses, Mesaros said.
The Unwrap Homewood postcard simplifies the process for village officials, Mesaros said. Participants must fill out the postcard and provide their name, address and how they found out about Unwrap Homewood.
Mesaros said the village will also provide participating businesses with free envelopes.
“We wanted to do a program to support our local businesses. And we know holiday shopping is one of the ways to do this,” Mesaros said. “You’re going to be spending money on Christmas gifts and treating yourself. So, we’d like you to do that here in Homewood.”
Mesaros said Unwrap Homewood begins on Tuesday, Nov. 25, four days before Small Business Saturday, so holiday shoppers can have a full month to participate.
Participating businesses said they responded to an email from the village, agreeing to be included in Unwrap Homewood.
GoodSpeed Cycles, a bicycle shop, and Art Corner Frames, a frame shop and art supply store, are among those participating in Unwrap Homewood.
“My wife and I try to do all of our holiday shopping in downtown Homewood,” GoodSpeed Cycles events director Steve Buchtel said. “Those dollars we spend at locally owned shops is worth more to our quality of life than the dollars spent at big box stores and Amazon.”
Buchtel said winning Visa gift cards isn’t the only reason community members will participate in Unwrap Homewood. He said they’ll do it because they love supporting local businesses.
Art Corner Frames owner Stephanie Becker said Unwrap Homewood shoppers can reach the minimum spending limit more quickly with custom framing, but the store also has items as inexpensive as $1.
“We have a lot of art supplies and gifts that are smaller,” Becker said. “You can definitely go either way.”
Becker said Art Corner Frames is already having a busy holiday season before Thanksgiving, and she hopes it will stay busy throughout December.
Neither Goodspeed Cycles nor Art Corner Frames has received Unwrap Homewood postcards or envelopes yet, but the village said they will in the near future.
The deadline for an Unwrap Homewood shopper to submit their receipts is Dec. 30. They’ll receive their Visa gift cards during the first week of January, Mesaros said.
