The Golden Community Coop and Kicking Horse Country Chamber of Commerce have partnered to launch the Buy and Give Local contest this holiday season.
The purpose of the contest is to encourage people to shop local in order to increase their chances at winning one of 20 $100 prizes, or one of the three grand prizes of $500.
According to Jill Dewtie, executive director and director of economic development at the Golden Coop, the Coop is looking to help stimulate the local economy while also helping families who might be in need, just in time for the holidays.
“It’s a tough year and we wanted to encourage residents to support local businesses,” said Dewtie.
“Winning one of these prizes might also change your entire Christmas, you can buy a few extra gifts or treat someone you care about, or use it however you need, while supporting local.”
The contest is being funded by the Columbia Basin Trust through the Coop, who had applied for a holiday shop local grant.
All prizes will be awarded in local business gift cards, to ensure that the funds stay in the community.
To enter the contest, Dewtie says all you need to do is shop local at participating businesses, weather it be online or in person, to have your name submitted for the draw. There’s no cutoff to how much you spend, so it doesn’t matter if the purchase is $5 or $5,000, everyone will have equal chance to participate and win.
The contest will run until Dec. 18, with the draw being held on Dec. 21. Prizes will be handed out after that to ensure they are received before Christmas.
“We want there to be a low barrier, it’s been a tough enough year for people, we want to make sure everyone has their chance,” said Dewtie.
Shopping local is something that’s been important for years and has just been exacerbated by COVID-19, according to Dewtie.
The COVID-19 pandemic has offered the Coop a chance to educate and emphasize that in order to keep Golden’s economy strong and diverse, we need to shop local to keep these business in our community.
“If we keep trending towards shopping online or travelling to go to big box stores, it’s going to hinder what is actually available to us within our community,” said Dewtie.
“This is an opportunity to support neighbour and allow people to have small businesses that keep Golden vibrant.”
