How To Market Your Business

Make The Most Of Your Membership!

The Chamber of Commerce is here to help YOU! Advertise, sponsor, or join the newly formed President’s Circle for maximum exposure. Use the Chamber website, bi-monthly digital magazine, or weekly e-news to advertise. Sponsor one of our annual Chamber programs such as First Thursday Business Connections, Nonprofit Resource Council, or Women In Business. Community events can be sponsored a-la-carte, or let us design a custom package that works for you and your budget through our eight largest annual events.

Increase Online Exposure?

Marketing Opportunities

Your Chamber membership provides exclusive opportunities for your business to be seen on multiple different platforms. There is something for everyone! From the Chamber website, Chamber E-Newsletter, and this magazine.

Using Chamber Master, you can personalize a page in our website’s business directory and share updates, deals, and discounts at any time, anywhere. Not only is it included in your membership, but it is also so easy. For more information on marketing, visit oldsaybrookchamber.com/marketing

Message From The Chamber President: Bob Bradley

In our continuing efforts to provide value and relevance to each and every one of you, we are launching our new digital magazine, Chamber Chatbook. The Chamber of Commerce has certainly evolved since the days in 1939 in a small corner of the then Town Hall, now the Kate. It has been wonderful to see the development of the Chamber and the collaborative partnering with other community focused organizations as well as the entire town of Old Saybrook and surrounding towns. The benefits of joining the Chamber and being an active member are countless. Friendships, partnerships and relationships have been forged through membership. This Chatbook will be just one more component to bring focus to our community and members. We hope that you enjoy the content and will encourage you to be a part of it as well.

In a recent letter to the residents of Old Saybrook, Amy Hollis, Executive Director of Shoreline Soup Kitchens & Pantries (SSKP), shared a message from a guest at a pantry, who wrote, “Thank you for all your hard work and kindness. The food pantry has been a huge blessing to us!” Expressing her thanks for the huge outpouring of community support during the pandemic, she added, “When the pandemic began, it was “all hands on deck.” The shoreline community jumped into action with an immediate response. Increased numbers of people in need were matched by gifts of food, donations, and many hardworking volunteers. This caring and generosity lifted us up as the waters were rising and made all the difference as we weathered the last few years.” Last year SSKP registered 58% more guests at their five local food pantries that in pre-pandemic times; a total of 11,337 individuals. Many families in Old Saybrook continue to depend on their weekly distributions of groceries. Last year 1,062 Old Saybrook residents registered at an SSKP pantry. By July of this year, that number was already at 1,005, indicating that the number of those in need in Old Saybrook continues to be high. But the pandemic is not the only reason some families are struggling. A new concern is the rising price of food and fuel. “We are all feeling the economic pinch,” Hollis continued, “but the most vulnerable are often hit the hardest.” Founded 33 years ago, SSKP provides groceries through 5 weekly pantry distributions, and offers daily prepared meals at eight local meal sites, sharing food with any resident of Old Saybrook in need of assistance. SSKP also serves the towns of Essex, Old Lyme, East Lyme, Lyme, Chester, Clinton, Madison, Killingworth, Westbrook, and Deep River. The Old Saybrook Pantry, hosted at First Church of Christ in Saybrook, distributes food every Tuesday from 2-4pm, and distributed over 315,000 pounds of food last year, with the hard work of many dedicated volunteers, who met guests outside at their cars with bags of food for safety reasons. Every Wednesday from noon to 1pm in Old Saybrook, rotating teams of volunteer cooks share grab-and-go lunches at Grace Episcopal Church, and last year served 2,930 meals, each prepared and served with care. To find out more about the mission of Shoreline Soup Kitchens & Pantries please visit www. shorelinesoupkitchens.org.

By: Claire Bellerjeau, Shoreline Soup Kitchens & Pantries Director of Development