COLUMBUS, Ind. — A group of Columbus Area Chamber of Commerce volunteers are launching a campaign to boost local spending in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic sending customers to online businesses rather than bricks-and-mortar businesses.
The “Think Local Columbus” volunteers are seeking to inspire the area’s residents to direct collective buying power into businesses that have invested in the local community.
“Any business that invests in a local bricks-and-mortar operation on our community is one we should support,” said Cindy Frey, chamber president. “Each operation, whether corporate-owned, a franchise, or a locally-owned venture adds to our local economy by investing in its workers, maintaining physical buildings and paying local taxes. If we want to have goods and services available here, we need to support them.”
The effort kicks off Thursday at the Wine Walk, an after-hours dining and shopping event sponsored by the Downtown Business Association. Food service and retail shops alone employ more than 8,600 local residents in Bartholomew County, chamber officials said.
For more on this story, see Thursday’s Republic.
