We believe in supporting local businesses, and we urge others to do so often on this page, calling on residents to support those who are there supporting our schools, our athletic teams and our fund-raisings on a regular basis.

As a local business whose employees depend upon the support of others for their daily bread, we understand the value of Sampsonians having your back, and we appreciate every single subscription bought and every purchase of our paper at newsstands and from direct dealers.

There is a kindred spirit among local businesses, one born from an understanding of what it takes to fight big box stores and online shopping and do it in such a way that it doesn’t offend shoppers while at the same time imploring them to frequent — and make purchases — with local shop owners.

From that spirit comes the forging of partnerships for the greater good and a team approach to getting folks to spend their money locally first.

This week, we formed one of those partnerships with downtown business Simply Brewed, a joining of products that, we hope, will serve many purposes, not the least of which is encouraging residents of our great county to consider both the coffee shop and the local newspaper as part of your weekly, if not daily, routine.

Together, Simply Brewed and The Sampson Independent are joining to offer folks who will take the time to visit the downtown coffee shop a chance to grab their favorite beverage, a little something to munch on and the local newspaper, sitting down to enjoy them, all while supporting local businesses in the process.

It’s a partnership that makes sense in so many ways. After all enjoying a morning cup of coffee — lattes and espressos work, too — while catching up on what local government is doing, who won the high school basketball game, what fundraisings we can support and what special events are upcoming in Sampson County is as American as eating a hot dog at a baseball game.

Simply Brewed owner Wally Bashlor is so committed to this partnership that he is even offering a limited time special that gives you the newspaper at no charge with any $5 purchase.

By pulling together for this marriage of coffee and local news, we are hoping to accomplish many things. Yes, we want people to buy the newspaper, read it and become familiar with what is going on in their community, information that social media feeds simply don’t regularly provide. Yes we want more and more people to become patrons of Simply Brewed because it is a locally-owned business. But it’s far more than just that. By combining the coffee and newspaper approach, we are hoping to entice people to come downtown Clinton, not just to visit one business but to start there and then meander out to other shops to pick up things they might need, supporting those local businesses that, again, support us all in one way or another. And we hope it balloons from there to include other local businesses in Clinton and in all our other municipalities across Sampson.

We have a strong local business community, with many unique offerings. But they are only as strong as the support they get from the community.

That’s where we, individually, come in. Before we scroll our phone to find a gift, pick up something we need for the house or lawn, or search for our latest purchase, we need to stop and think local. Then we need to buy locally.

The things we purchase from our local businesses are a shot in the arm for the economy, but it’s a far greater give than just that. Just as the subscription you buy to our newspaper supports local journalism and the Sampson neighbors who work here, buying something from a local business helps sustain your friends and neighbors, and allows them to continue supporting all of us.

So go get a cup of coffee and enjoy the newspaper, then shop locally, knowing that each action you take is supporting your friends and neighbors.