In case you missed it | Black Friday at Walmart

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BLACK FRIDAY AT WALMART

In case you’ve already got all your holiday shopping done and you are looking for something to do on Black Friday, Boulder activists have you covered.

Especially if you are not a big fan of one of the newest additions to Boulder’s big-box retail market.

The Coalition for Social and Environmental Responsibility in Boulder (CSERB) is hosting a protest at the new blood-sucker of local businesses from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. that day at the Walmart Neighborhood Market at the Diagonal Plaza mall at 28th and Iris, as part of a nationwide wave of demonstrations.

The event will feature the launch of a local online boycott petition (yes, you can also sign the petition in person at the store), picketing, leafleting and featured speakers.

It’s sure to be a good time for the whole family. Just check out the CSERB boycott pledge: “From Boulder to Bangladesh, Walmart exploits people and the planet. I will boycott the Neighborhood Market and all Walmarts.”

In this season of giving — and buying — we encourage you to do your shopping at local businesses, to keep our dollars within the community. Not only does it benefit local employers, it benefits local employees and makes Boulder County more self-sufficient. Let’s not rely on international corporate chains to provide our goods. Let’s grow our own.

IT’S THAT TIME OF YEAR

You may not have noticed the recent dip in temperatures as much as those who live outdoors, but there is a group we are big fans of that recently opened its doors to those who are less fortunate than most of us.

Boulder Outreach for Homeless Overflow (BOHO), the group that organizes massive sleepovers at local churches so that those without roofs over their heads have a warm, sheltered place to stay at night, launched its four-month season on Nov. 15. The service is especially important in a community like Boulder, where city officials, in their infinite wisdom, have created an anti-camping ordinance that prohibits the homeless from sleeping with as much as a blanket or tarp over themselves. Attempting to cover oneself for warmth or shelter invites a ticket. Awesome.

BOHO has already proven its worth this season. The night of Nov. 21, when the low temperature was 19 degrees, the organization hosted a record-breaking 172 guests at Pine Street Church and an overflow site, the First Congregational Church.

As the organization said in its press release, lives were saved.

We are lucky to have a group like BOHO looking out for those who are less fortunate. During this holiday season, as most of us are spending cozy time with family and friends in heated houses with plenty of food, keep in mind those who don’t have those luxuries.

We hope you find a way to give back to those who are less fortunate at this time of year, whether it’s by giving money, donating goods or volunteering.

The BOHO emergency warming centers will be open seven days a week until March 15:

Sundays: Cornerstone Church, 1190 S. Lashley Lane
Mondays: St. Aidan’s Episcopal Church, 2425 Colorado Blvd.
Tuesdays: Congregation Har HaShem, 3901 Pinon Drive
Wednesdays: St. Andrew Presbyterian Church, 3700 Baseline Road
Thursdays: Pine Street Church, 1237 Pine St.
Fridays: Crestview Church, 3665 Madison Ave.
Saturdays: Seventh Day Baptist, 6710 Arapahoe Ave.

Respond: letters@boulderweekly.com