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Extra incentive added to shopping at home |
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Monday, 14 December 2009 |
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By Mike Gervais
Register Staff
12-12-2009 A group dedicated to economic stimulus is making sure that shopping locally comes with advantages like never before.
When residents spend their hard-earned money in the community as opposed to doing their shopping out of town, residents’ dollars change hands to local business owners to their local employees to, hopefully, more local businesses, thus stimulating the economy.
As an added bonus, this holiday season the “Think Local First” movement is offering prizes to the two residents who focus on local businesses the most.
“We’ve gotten donations from many local businesses and we’ve divided those into two large prizes,” said Vickie Taton, Eastern Sierra field representative of the Sierra Business Council.
Lynn Almeida, owner of Spellbinder Books in Bishop, said that more than 35 of the 55 members of the Think Local First group have donated prizes.
Residents are being encouraged to shop locally at Think Local First businesses and save their receipts until the end of the month. On Dec. 31, contestants can mail in their receipts. One prize will be given to the resident with the most receipts and another will go to the resident who visited the most Think Local First businesses.
“Over the past couple of years, we’ve had more and more people coming in and saying, ‘I’m shopping locally this holiday season,’” Almeida said. “We thought this game would be a fun and different way to say thank you to all our loyal customers. That’s one reason why any receipt, regardless how small, is eligible for entry.”
Contest cards with a list of all Bishop’s participating businesses can be picked up at Spellbinder or other Think Local First members. Almeida said that new businesses are joining the group all the time, so some members may not be included on the list, but participants can be identified by the Think Local First sticker featured in many store windows. There are members from Lone Pine to Lee Vining.
“The return for the community is great,” Almeida said. “We get so many people in for the holidays, and this is a way to show them our appreciation.”
Almeida said that spending money locally supports local business owners and their local employees, who, in turn, hopefully, spend their money locally, supporting more residents.
“Money spent within the community recirculates many more times before it exits,” Almeida said. “And local businesses proportionately donate more money to local charities and non-profits.”
“Study after study shows that independent, locally-owned businesses have a special role to play in the vitality of our economies and communities,” Taton said.
But there is more to supporting local businesses. According to Almeida it is mom-and-pop shops that give the Owens Valley and the Eastern Sierra its unique, down-home atmosphere.
Anyone who is interested in participating in the Think Local First group or wants more information about the holiday scavenger hunt is welcome to call Taton at (760) 258-1363, e-mail
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or visit www.livingeconomies.org or www.sbcouncil.org.
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 07 January 2010 )
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