As a Portland resident and business owner, Gudrun Cobb said her new doggy apparel shop, Uncommon Paws, would have participated in Saturday’s Shop for a Cause Day fundraiser regardless of which nonprofit stood to benefit.

But the selection of The Milestone Foundation – with its focus on helping those with substance abuse disorders – added significance to the event.

“Milestone and this issue are near and dear to my heart because of my daughter,” said Cobb, who has been in business five years but opened her first Uncommon Paws storefront location on Exchange Street one week ago.

“They are very helpful to people in the recovery community,” added her daughter, Theresa Cobb, who is proudly 10 months clean and attends support group meetings at Milestone.

The Cobbs were among dozens of business owners and employees in downtown Portland on Saturday wearing and handing out bright-green Shop for a Cause stickers to spread word about the event.

Gudrun Cobb helps Teresa Drisko, right, find a collar for her pet at Uncommon Paws on Saturday during Shop for a Cause Day in Portland.

Shops and stores participating in the annual fundraiser – organized by the Portland Downtown business association – agreed to donate a portion of their sales on Saturday to a local nonprofit.

This year’s beneficiary runs drug and alcohol detoxification programs, emergency shelters, intensive residential facilities and programs to assist the chronically homeless.

Milestone’s selection comes at a time when Maine is experiencing record numbers of drug overdose deaths, primarily from heroin and prescription opiates. The Maine Attorney General’s Office reported recently that 286 people had fatally overdosed as of Sept. 20 – or roughly one person per day.

Shop for a Cause is timed to coincide with Small Business Saturday, an annual national promotion spearheaded by American Express. Although not officially connected, both events encourage Americans to spend more of their dollars at locally owned businesses during the first major shopping weekend of the holiday season.

Business in many Old Port shops was steady or brisk on Saturday as shoppers headed out to take advantage of the relatively mild weather to hunt for post-Thanksgiving deals.

Fifty businesses participated in Shop for a Cause.

“I have been in dozens of businesses and they are packed,” said Casey Gilbert, executive director of Portland Downtown. “People are out happily wearing their Shop for a Cause stickers and merchants are handing them out like the ‘I voted’ stickers” on Election Day.

Amanda Jacobsen, assistant manager of Asia West on Commercial Street, said the shop has participated in both small business-themed promotions for years as a way to encourage people to shop in the Old Port rather than in malls. But Asia West has put more focus on Shop for a Cause this year because it benefits local initiatives.

“It’s just an opportunity to piggyback on Small Business Saturday and try to remind people of the true meaning of the holidays,” Jacobsen said.

A few doors down at The Black Dog, store manager Nicole Stafford said not everyone who comes in knows the meaning behind the Shop for a Cause campaign.

“But when I do tell people, in general they’re pretty excited,” Stafford said.

Last year, Shop for a Cause raised more than $8,000 for Preble Street, a Portland nonprofit that serves the city’s homeless community. Gilbert said she is hoping to beat that figure this year.

In addition to handing out green stickers, several stores were promoting Shop for a Cause on their sidewalk sandwich boards or in their shop windows. At Uncommon Paws, for instance, Theresa and Gudrun Cobb, as well as Gudrun’s husband, Pete Smith, were all wearing several green stickers and greeting shoppers browsing the leashes, collars and other canine items in the new store.

“We’ve had a number of people say the reason they are out shopping is because of Shop for a Cause,” said Smith.

For more information on The Milestone Foundation, go to: milestonefoundation.org.

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