Thinking Local

In conjunction with my post last week about local bookstores, I found an article in my local alternative weekly paper about a "think local" pledge. Apparently, if you're in my area, you can go on their website and promise to spend at least $100 at local businesses this year to be eligible for prizes. The best prize you can get, though, is a strong community. There was an interesting statistic on there: for every dollar spent at a local business, 68 cents stays in the community, as opposed to 43 cents at national chain stores.

For the non-Buffalonians out there, the good news is that this is apparently a nationwide initiative, aimed at creating a 2.4 billion impact on communities around the country this Christmas. It couldn't have come at a better time, with the grim news coming out of Detroit and Wall Street over the past six weeks. I had a hard time tracking down where people can go to make the pledge, though. The best I could do was this directory of alternative newsweeklies around the country. I'll definitely be making a pledge. I encourage everyone else to do the same!