In the in-town Atlanta neighborhoods of Morningside and Virginia Highlands, hundreds of yard signs are popping up that have nothing to do with the upcoming elections.
Instead, they speak to neighborhood pride and residents' desire to help their community’s bars, restaurants, and shops survive the pandemic.
“I think it’s really given people a simple way to support local businesses and do a small part in the pandemic,” said Eric O’Brien, a Morningside resident since 2013.
O’Brien, who works at the local public relations and marketing firm Jackson Spalding, came up with the yard sign idea in early May.
Credit: Phil Skinner
Credit: Phil Skinner
“Everything was shut down, and everybody was wondering: What’s going to happen to the employees, the businesses?” he said.
The lightbulb went off when O’Brien saw a bright yellow and blue “Good Morning” image that his colleague Jonathan Buiel posted on Instagram.
“What if we added ‘side’ to the image and sold it on yard signs to help Morningside businesses suffering from the COVID-19 slowdown?” pondered O’Brien, an Atlanta native who lives in Morningside with his wife, Emily, and their 5-, 7-, and 10-year-old children.
His next question: “Will the signs sell?”
O’Brien ordered 10 “Good Morningside” signs online and recruited his children and a few other youngsters in the neighborhood to test-market his idea door-to-door. The signs, priced at $25 each, sold within 30 minutes, something he proudly attributes to his “very effective sales team.”
As of mid-September, O’Brien had raised more than $3,000 with the Good Morningside signs.
He also figured out a strategy to stretch those dollars even more.
First, proceeds from the yard sign sales are used to buy gift cards from local businesses that are struggling and can most assuredly use the money. Then, the gift cards are given to the PTA of a neighborhood school, which can auction the gift cards off and keep the proceeds.
“It’s a double benefit to neighborhood businesses and the school,” O’Brien said.
And there’s the potential for even more benefit to the businesses, taking into account that most gift cards are redeemed for dinners or other purchases that exceed the cards' value, he said.
The sign campaign started in Morningside and then spread to neighboring Virginia Highlands, with O’Brien and the staff at Jackson Spalding designing the “VaHi Y’all” yard signs for Virginia Highlands, as well as the ones for Morningside.
Other neighborhoods have been asked to join the project, and O’Brien hopes there soon will be “Yes, We Can-dler Park” signs dotting the lawns in that community.
Participating business owners – including Brad Scoggins, co-founder of Little Barn Apothecary in Virginia Highlands, and Anthony Vipond and Chad Crete, co-founders of Whiskey Bird in Morningside – are grateful.
“The campaign has been very much appreciated and has definitely made a positive impact,” Scoggins said. “Every bit helps during these challenging times.”
Seeing a neighborhood actively come together and proactively uplift local businesses is “so inspiring and is really what being a neighbor is all about,” he said. “We are thankful for all the support of the Virginia Highlands neighborhood and so grateful to know VaHi cares.”
Credit: Phil Skinner
Credit: Phil Skinner
Whiskey Bird’s Vipond says he loves seeing the Good Morningside lawn signs on his drive into work.
“Our community’s been extremely supportive, back starting in March and continuing until the present day,” he said.
Virginia Highlands residents Jenny Reiner and Amanda M. Curran took the sign project on in their community and have netted $3,000 for gift-card purchases from local businesses.
“Nothing was better than seeing the surprise and gratitude on the store owners' faces when we walked from store to store to purchase the gift cards,” Reiner said.
Curran has seen many changes in her 20 years in the neighborhood. But, she said, “it has been particularly hard to watch the stores struggle to stay open during the pandemic.”
Reiner and Curran are still out there pushing sign sales. O’Brien is, too.
He is out in the community on weekends promoting the yard signs and says he’ll keep on as long as there is interest.
His neighborhood association is supportive, posting on Facebook: “Morningside folks, join neighbor Eric O’Brien in doing a lil' good in the ‘hood.’”
Credit: Phil Skinner
Credit: Phil Skinner
MORE DETAILS
What inspired Eric O’Brien to create his yard-sign initiative?
“I was moved to start this when I saw how the pandemic was negatively impacting local businesses, and I wondered what I and others could do to help.”
What he hopes to accomplish
“I hope the yard sign campaign provides needed financial support to local businesses and their employees. And I hope it gives residents an easy, fun, low-cost, and creative way to support local businesses and schools, both of which are greatly affected by the pandemic.”
Want to buy a sign or start a similar campaign in your neighborhood? Email goodmorningsideatl@gmail.com or vahiyall@gmail.com.
About the Author
