February 23, 2006

EDITORIAL

Join campaign to buy local

Downtown Yellow Springs serves many roles in this community but none may be more significant than its place in the village’s economy. With well more than 50 businesses, downtown as a whole provides numerous jobs. It is also a focal point of commercial activity.

A group of Yellow Springs residents and business owners has organized an effort to highlight just how important downtown and the local economy are to Yellow Springs. This effort, called the Buy Local Campaign, is encouraging villagers to support downtown businesses — and the community itself — by shopping more in town.

Patronizing local businesses is essential to maintaining a healthy local economy, and a healthy economy helps Yellow Springs remain an engaging, interesting town. Money that is spent within a community is recirculated, or recycled, in the community. Local business owners use their profits to reinvest in their operations and to purchase goods and services from other businesses in Yellow Springs. Every dollar spent in Yellow Springs contributes to the economy and the community: shopping locally helps Yellow Springs merchants run successful businesses and provide jobs, which, in turn, helps the Village and Miami Township governments and the Yellow Springs school district provide essential services that all villagers enjoy and rely on.

There are also intangible benefits that arise when people buy locally. It builds a sense of community and helps patrons connect with other villagers. Local businesses also give back to the village, through charitable donations and in-kind contributions, by offering space for groups to gather, and even by providing venues for artists and authors to showcase their works.

Though Yellow Springs continues to build its tourist economy, many local businesses still rely on a core group of customers to keep their doors open: people who live or work in Yellow Springs. While villagers shouldn’t be expected to make all of their purchases in town, they can provide a base of support for local businesses. After all, there’s no guarantee that visitors will return to Yellow Springs to shop, yet local residents can, and should, regularly frequent businesses here.

The Buy Local Campaign shouldn’t be just about lobbying Yellow Springers to spend more money in town. Businesses, especially those downtown, need to do their part to entice villagers to participate in the campaign. For instance, shopkeepers need to provide customers with friendly service. They can also find more products and services that local residents either want or need. Businesses could help beautify downtown by cleaning sidewalks of litter and debris more often, planting more flowers and greenery and splashing more art on buildings. Downtown shops could coordinate their hours to make it easier for customers to do their shopping. Merchants, with the help of the Chamber of Commerce, should build on the success of the biannual Art Stroll by organizing additional and more frequent community activities downtown.

Every holiday season, local businesses, and the News, emphasize how important it is for villagers to shop at home and financially support merchants. But shopping at home is really a year-round effort.

All Yellow Springs residents, businesses and organizations should get involved in the Buy Local Campaign. Participating in the campaign is not just good for the economy and businesses — it’s good for Yellow Springs.

—Robert Mihalek