Local businesses have eagerly joined an initiative geared towards supporting charitable organizations and possibly gaining new customers.
This year's #local month is underway.
The initiative launched in April 2020. Participating businesses have each designated a specific item during a certain time frame in April in which a portion of its sales will go towards a charity of their choice.
Founder Kaley Holder said the initiative was inspired by major national campaigns.
"We have often admired large-scale campaigns such as McHappy Day or Tim Hortons' Smile Cookie campaign and thought to ourselves, how do we bring this to a local level and how do we work with multiple businesses?"
Holder said through this model, there's a wider range of selection for consumers, it promotes local businesses, and it supports local charities.
"A lot of [businesses] were very quick to pick an organization that they wanted to work with, something that was near and dear to their hearts," said Holder. "It was really nice to hear their stories."
A few of the participating locations include Kombucha Hound, Bad Dog, Great Lakes Refill Co., Global Donuts, Giresi’s Pizza, and Refined Fool. Details about which charitable organization each business has chosen along with the specified product to benefit it has been posted on the #local's website.
Holder said they look forward to seeing the results of #local at the end of April.
"It's our intention to see this through for the month and look to bring it back hopefully next year for our third birthday," she said. "We are really feeling energized about what the rest of 2022 holds for #local and the impacts that we can make."
*By the end of April, the campaign raised a total of $3,500 for local organizations.
