Sunderland encouraged to love local this Valentines day....

SUNDERLAND ENCOURAGED TO LOVE LOCAL THIS VALENTINE'S DAY...

SUNDERLAND shoppers are being encouraged to share the love this Valentine's Day - and show their support for local businesses.

February 14 is known the world over as the most romantic day of the year but it has now also been deemed Love Local Day - turning the focus on using businesses on the doorstep.

And now Sunderland BID has joined forces with ShopAppy.com, which has created Love Local Day - the online platform which supports local, independent businesses - to put a spotlight on the wealth of retailers across the city and to champion them.

As part of Love Local Day, shoppers are being asked to nominate a business which they believe should be shown some appreciation from the community, with the people who nominate entered into a prize draw for £50 to spend at ShopAppy.com.

All independent businesses are eligible and customers are now being asked to put forward their favourites and explain why they've been chosen.

Nominations can be made at https://shopappy.com/love-local-day-2022 before the deadline of 12 February.

Sharon Appleby, Chief Executive of Sunderland BID, is encouraging people to get involved and nominate local businesses.

"We are very lucky in Sunderland to have such a strong and vibrant independent sector who have worked really hard under what has been some of the hardest conditions over the past two years," she said.

"This is a fantastic way for us to recognise our local businesses and for customers to show their love for what they offer - and what better time to do that than on the most romantic day of the year?"

Dr Jackie Mulligan, Founder of ShopAppy, who is leading the national Love Local Day campaign, said it was "important to champion localism."

"It has been a challenging last decade, none more so than this last year for our town centres and high streets, but we know there is tremendous love for local businesses in our communities," she said.

 "Nominations will highlight the importance and positive impact these businesses have in the life of our communities and commercial hearts and how critical they are to our social and economic lives."