Mobbed by community, spirit and cash
Feature story for The Commercial Appeal
Oct. 7, 2012
The mob rushing through the streets of the Cooper-Young neighborhood on Oct. 17 will not be an angry one bearing pitchforks, torches and ill will, but one with open pocketbooks, dollar bills and shopping lists bearing the names of the wanted: The Oblivians, Harlan T. Bobo, Sun Ra and Furry Lewis.
This will be the night of the first Memphis Cash Mob, which will storm the gates of Goner Records, the Midtown citadel of vinyl LPs, 45s and 78s and new and used CDs from local, national and international musicians.
The idea is to support a local business, meet new people and help a charity.
The Memphis Cash Mob was the idea of Cooper-Young resident Shannon Dixon, who wanted to do something positive for her community. But the mother and sole proprietor of a collaborative consulting and organizational development firm didn’t have a lot of time to devote to the cause.
“I was thinking that there are all these cool ideas happening around Memphis these days that I’ve been calling ‘decentralized energy,'” Dixon said. “It’s not some big initiative, it’s not some big thing that one entity is pushing, it’s not a strategy — it’s just people getting excited about doing something small for their community, or getting their creative juices going in some way, and I just wanted to be a part of that. I love that, but I don’t have a lot of extra energy and time being a sole proprietor.”
The first cash mob began in 2011 in Buffalo, N.Y., and the idea was picked up and expanded upon shortly after in Cleveland, Ohio. Cash mobs have since found their way across 47 states and the District of Columbia, as well as nine countries around the world.
The rules of a cash mob state that participants will visit a predetermined locally owned store on a given day, between given times, and agree to spend up to $20, and because it is a community-building event, each participant should introduce himself or herself to at least three other people. Also, a portion of the day’s proceeds must go to a local nonprofit … (read more)