BALTIMORE – City Council President Bernard C. "Jack" Young will introduce legislation at tonight’s City Council meeting celebrating the 2nd Annual Small Business Saturday in Baltimore and encouraging residents to shop at small businesses, which employ nearly 98 percent of Maryland’s workforce. 

The Council President’s resolution mirrors a national trend in support of Small Business Saturday, which was created in 2010 by American Express as a way to support local businesses that create jobs and boost the economy. The idea was to create a shopping experience for small businesses that could rival big box stores’ Black Friday and online outlets’ Cyber Monday. Small Business Saturday will take place in Baltimore and around the country on Saturday, November 26, during one of the busiest shopping weekends of the year.

“Small businesses represent Baltimore’s economic engine and are responsible for an outsized share of newly created jobs,” Council President Young said. “I plan on shopping at a number of Baltimore’s small businesses on November 26, and I encourage residents and visitors to do the same.”

M.J. “Jay” Brodie, president of the Baltimore Development Corp., said that Small Business Saturday provides an economic jolt to Baltimore’s businesses and neighborhoods.

“Baltimore’s small, local businesses are part of what makes this City unique, and Small Business Saturday is an opportunity for Baltimore’s residents to show their local support and pride in our neighborhood shopping districts,” Mr. Brodie said.

Click here to view a copy of Council President Young’s Shop Small-Spend Big! resolution.