By Aaron Allen, The Seattle Medium
Dozens of community members gathered at KeenEye & Co. in Renton last weekend for a Community Cash Mob organized by Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.’s Delta Upsilon Omega Chapter and its Dynamic Urban Opportunities Foundation (DUOF) to support the Black woman-owned business.
Held as part of the nationwide June Black Dollar Days initiative, the event encouraged community members to make intentional purchases at KeenEye & Co., a Black woman-owned home goods and interior décor boutique owned by Lisa Stokes. Organizers say the Community Cash Mob approach brings groups of shoppers to a single business at the same time, creating an immediate economic impact while encouraging customers to return long after the event ends.
“We encourage our members to strengthen our communities through economic empowerment, entrepreneurship, and intentional support of Black-owned businesses,” said Saunjah Brantley, president of the Delta Upsilon Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. “We hype it up a lot in June, but the idea is to drive people there even after the event.”
Brantley said the chapter modeled the event after successful Community Cash Mobs hosted by Alpha Kappa Alpha chapters across the country. Organizers also encouraged participants to post photos on social media, leave online reviews and help strengthen the business’s digital presence.
“Every purchase, every Google review, every social media post, and every new customer helps to create opportunities for small businesses to grow and thrive,” said Brantley. “Together we can make a meaningful impact by investing in the businesses that invest in our communities, and it becomes a virtuous cycle of growth and development.”
Founded in 1908, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., the nation’s oldest historically Black sorority, has long promoted community service and economic empowerment. Under its current international initiative, Building Our Economic Wealth, the organization encourages members to support Black-owned businesses and entrepreneurs through intentional spending and community partnerships.
Locally, that work is supported by the Dynamic Urban Opportunities Foundation, the chapter’s 501(c)(3) philanthropic arm, which has spent the past 20 years supporting scholarships, educational programming and community initiatives throughout the region.
“Dynamic Urban Opportunities Foundation has been trying to influence the community for the past 20 years,” said foundation President Brenda Vasser. “This type of event shows that we can come out, show support for our minority businesses, make an impact in our community, and also provide quality goods to the community. We are dedicated to making sure that small businesses survive because without small businesses, which have been the backbone of the African American community, we tend not to thrive.”
For Lisa Stokes, the Community Cash Mob represented more than a busy day of sales. It introduced new customers to her business who may not have otherwise discovered the boutique while reinforcing the power of community support for local entrepreneurs.
“They wrapped their arms around me because I am a new business here,” said Stokes. “It brings the community together, and it brings the awareness that there’s a business here. They showed up big. They brought everything, they did everything. I didn’t have to do one thing. That’s what it takes for a small business owner, for people to come in and not shop once, but return. Tell the next person, tell the next person.”
While June Black Dollar Days provided a national platform for supporting Black-owned businesses, organizers say the long-term success of businesses like KeenEye & Co. depends on continued community support long after the event ends.
Beyond growing her own business, Stokes said she hopes KeenEye & Co. will also help inspire and mentor future entrepreneurs.
“I love to teach people, my employees, the whole nine yards: how to start businesses, how to grow them, and how to be successful,” said Stokes. “It’s really hard nowadays for people to get jobs, and I want them to be able to learn how to get to the next level and own their own business.”
