For the fourth year in a row, Mayor Nic Hunter and the city of Lake Charles are issuing the #ShopLocalLC Challenge, just in time for the holiday shopping season.

Aimed at encouraging holiday shoppers to shop local, the challenge is simple: Patronize at least four local merchants this holiday season and show them some love by taking a picture and posting it on social media with the hashtag, #ShopLocalLC.

“We first issued this challenge in 2020 as a fun way to help bolster our small business community in the midst of very difficult times,” Hunter said. “Although we have come leaps and bounds since then, our small, locally-owned business community still needs our support. These businesses make up the economic backbone of our community and give our City its unique character and distinctiveness.”

In 2010, in an effort to support local small businesses — many of whom were hurting during the recession — American Express launched Small Business Saturday to help drive more holiday shopping to small businesses. One year after the launch, local officials across the nation began to notice and promote the day. In 2011, the Senate passed a resolution in support of Small Business Saturday and by 2012 officials in all 50 states began to participate.

The day has grown into an annual tradition.

Small Business Saturday encourages Americans across the country to support local small businesses. The day infuses money back into local economies, promotes vibrant and diverse communities, and celebrates the important role of small businesses in the national economy.

There are 33.2 million small businesses in the U.S. and they make up 99% of all businesses. For the past 20 years, small businesses have accounted for roughly 40% of the United States’ gross domestic output, which equates to trillions of dollars of economic activity.