BECKLEY, WV (WVNS)–After taking a stroll in downtown Beckley, some signs in business windows advertising a business campaign may have stood out.

The signage campaign is called “Shop Local- Experience Your Neighborhood,” and is to help encourage local shopping in town. All participating shops and businesses simply display the sign to show their support for the campaign. 

Michelle Rotellini, President and CEO of the Beckley-Raleigh County Chamber of Commerce, said one of the goals is to also spread community awareness about why it’s important to shop local. 

“We just really want to convey the message that there are things to do here, but you have to get out and support it. If you keep taking your money outside of the area, then we won’t ever have anything here cool, it’s dependent on consumers to support locally in order to keep our business community thriving,” said Rotellini.

Businesses like Z&Z Beauty rely on local customers and exist to give residents easier access to shops closer to home. 

“When I first started Z&Z Beauty, a lot of people were going out of town and driving several hours just to get products and even just to do facials and things like that,” said Angela Bryant, Owner of Z&Z Beauty. “I felt like ‘hey, bring that here, that way they don’t have to travel or spend extra money versus coming here- we’re local and you get everything you need.”

Bryant added the West Virginia Hive was instrumental in helping her start out, and anyone looking to open a business in the area should reach out. 

“We have unfortunately seen some businesses close recently and that just breaks out heart when that happens because there are so many resources,” said Judy Moore, Executive Director of the West Virginia Hive. “The businesses really need to get in touch with us if they have any needs whatsoever. We work with start-ups and we work with businesses that have had their doors open forever and just need some sort of support.”

The campaign signs are currently sold out from how much support the campaign is receiving so far, but will restock soon.