Consider donating to heart association

The holidays are a time for giving. As we approach one of the biggest giving days of the year, Giving Tuesday, many may be looking for a cause to support. This year, I urge others to consider supporting the American Heart Association, a cause that is relentlessly working to save and improve lives each and every day.

Heart disease and stroke are the No. 1 and No. 5 killers of all Americans. As a survivor of both heart failure and stroke, and the daughter of a mother who lived with heart disease and died after a heart attack earlier this year, this cause is particularly important to me (“Second pig heart transplant patient dies at University of Maryland Medical Center after showing signs of organ rejection,” Oct. 31).

Donations made on Giving Tuesday will help fund lifesaving research and procedures like those that gave me a second chance at life after my diagnosis 10 years ago, as well as allow the American Heart Association to advocate for healthier communities, improve patient care and work toward equitable health for all people.

As an added bonus, donors can triple their impact when giving to the American Heart Association this year. From Nov. 22-27, the American Heart Association will receive a triple match, up to $200,000, for donations made directly at heart.org/donate.

In addition, gifts will be double matched Nov. 28 for Giving Tuesday. The gift matches are made possible by extraordinary donors who wish for their lifesaving gift to be anonymous.

I hope others will join me in supporting the American Heart Association on this Giving Tuesday, as a gesture made from the heart will certainly benefit the hearts of those who are struggling with cardiovascular disease.

— Brooke Bognanni, Baltimore

Baltimore’s businesses deserve your support

I was sorry to read the news that Joe Squared will close at the end of the year (“Joe Squared, known for square pizzas and live music on North Avenue, will close next month,” Nov. 16).

I am not a restaurant owner, but I have successfully operated a small business in a different industry for more than 30 years. I think that locally owned businesses need more support because they are incredibly important to Baltimore.

They hire locally, pay taxes locally and help our local economies thrive and create the rich social fabric of our community.

We certainly saw this in the case of Joe Squared: The pizza joint is credited as the initial catalyst for the revitalization of the Station North area.

Its basement performance space, Downsquares, became a hub for local artists. When the pandemic impacted restaurants everywhere, rather than fold, it reorganized in a novel worker-owner collective. A national pizza chain hardly displays such creative, community-building moxie!

Consider another local gem, Christopher Schafer Clothiers. Sure, you could buy a suit from a chain retailer. But I guarantee you would not get the same custom suit, carefully designed just for you.

Plus, the owner of that corporate chain likely does not live and work here in Baltimore, bearing witness to some of our city’s struggles, and determining to do something about it.

That’s what Shafer did, founding the Sharp Dressed Man, which collects and distributes menswear for men in need. Shafer, while laudable, is hardly unique.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce reports that more than 80% of local businesses give back to the community in meaningful ways.

In contrast, the leaders of larger corporations often do not live and work among us. Their goal is profit and growth.

The big get bigger by defeating or acquiring the smaller, leaving the community less vibrant and resilient.

Perhaps you’re convinced of the importance of shopping local, but the convenience and cheaper cost of online shopping is too strong to resist.

A desire to support local businesses is not enough; we need an effective plan, too.

That’s why I founded America’s Commerce Corp, a coalition of locally-owned businesses that have united to fight for the future of our community identity.

We are also “leveling the playing field” for local businesses’ e-commerce by populating a search engine called ComCon at www.ComCon.mobi, which only shows locally-owned businesses.

Baltimore’s local businesses like Joe Squared add great value to our community. Please support them by shopping local on Small Business Saturday (Nov. 25) and all year long!

— Stephanie Hau, Jarrettsville

The writer is CEO of America’s Commerce Corp.