A Mancos Cash Mob is meant to be a fun way to encourage people to go into a small, local business and spend their money, en masse, and give that business owner a rush of economic stimulus. The Mancos Cash Mob may be a new idea to our community but it has been around for a while. It was originated by Chris Smith of Buffalo, N.Y. in August 2011 when he encouraged a group of over 100 people to show up at a local wine shop and spend money. The idea was later picked up in November 2011 by Andrew Samtoy of Cleveland, Ohio, who claims to have come up with name cash mob. Since then, cash mob events have sprouted up across the U.S. and Canada.
The Mancos Cash Mob is sponsored by the Mancos Valley Chamber of Commerce. One of the coordinators, Jamie Bade, said that we hope everybody can come together and mob Fahrenheit Coffee on Saturday, Sept. 29 at 9 a.m., share some laughs and spend a little cash. She went on to explain that the idea is to swamp a business with lots of activity all in one time frame during a Mancos Cash Mob event. It should get pretty crazy for the business owner facing one of our cash mobs in Mancos, she said.
One year ago the Chamber of Commerce began its project called Mancos Valley First in an effort to encourage people to shop locally when they can. Many of you in the community have probably seen the red and white stickers on shop windows and vehicles around town. And, by the way, there are still stickers available at the visitor center if you would like to pick up one for a $1 donation. The next step for this project was to inform people about the businesses that exist in the Valley so that they know where to shop or who to call for services and resources. With thanks to Bob Scott and his masterful computer skills, the Chamber of Commerce website was upgraded to accommodate a business directory that is now available at www.mancosvalley.com.
After all the hard work identifying businesses, entering information into a database, transposing to a website, creating stickers and distributing them, now comes the fun, A Mancos Cash Mob. This will be the time to show our support for a local business by sharing a little of our cash with them. It will be the time to experience the great hospitality of one of our local, small town businesses.
The first Mancos Cash Mob event will be held on Saturday, Sept. 29, 9 a.m. at Fahrenheit Coffee Roaster (201 W. Grand Avenue, Mancos). Fahrenheit will be prepared to serve all their specialty drinks plus other breakfast treats like muffins and breakfast burritos. Lets mob Fahrenheit at 9 a.m. on the 29th and have some fun socializing with friends over a great cup coffee (or tea if you prefer). Future Mancos Cash Mob events are planned for once a month and will be announced in the newspaper, posted on the Mancos Valley Facebook page and on the website under Mancos Valley calendar of events. If you have a business in the Valley and would like to host a Mancos Cash Mob contact the Chamber of Commerce at 533-7434 or send an e-mail to chamber@mancosvalley.com.
