wit & whim, the Port Washington retail shop owned by Laurie Scheinman, has won 1010 WINS “One of NY’s Best 50 Small Businesses.” wit & whim gives 100 percent of its profits to a different charity each month.
“I am ecstatic,” said Sheinman. “The shop has had a whirlwind of a year, having been awarded one of the ‘Best and Brightest Shops in America’ by Home Accents Today Magazine in June, ‘Community Events Finalist,’ in Gifts and Decorative Accessories Magazine’s annual award in August and then ‘One of NY’s Best 50 Small Businesses’ by 1010 WINS. I knew about 1010 WINS a few months ago, but the official award reception is this week at the Adorama Live Theater, 345 Hudson St. in New York. They found me by contacting various New York publications and business authorities.
Apparently, wit & whim had more nominations than almost any other small business. It’s actually pretty funny when you consider people from Port Washington are still finding out about the shop.”
For the 1010 WINS radio coverage, go to www.witandwhim.com/wp-content/up loads/2012/10/1010-wins.m4a.
wit & whim opened three years ago and it carries an eclectic mix of items. It has also received recognition for its visual merchandising, community engagement and window displays.
The shop donates 100 percent of its profits (over $75,000) to a different charity each month, helping individuals and communities.
Upcoming philanthropic collaborations include Harboring Hearts: The Safe Center of Long Island, Port Washington Children’s Center, Port Rowing, National MS Society and the Long Island Coalition for the Homeless.
Past recipients of wit & whim’s monthly profits are the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation, Cow Neck Peninsula Historical Society, Safety & Substance Abuse Task Force, Sands Point Preserve, Helen Keller National Center, Manhasset CASA, Port Washington Parent Resource Center, Landmark on Main Street and the Marfan Foundation, to name just a few organizations.
“The Port community embraced the shop from the get-go,” said Sheinman. “Customers told their friends who told their friends and spread the word through their voices, gifts and participation in our whimsical community events. Bobbie Polay and the Chamber of Commerce have been incredibly gracious, as have my fellow business neighbors. I am so lucky to be part of such a warm and supportive town.”
wit & whim is located at 6 Carlton Ave. and is housed in a historic building off Main Street near the Port waterfront. For more information, email witandwhim@gmail.com.
