Last week, Morning Star Ink had the good fortune to be the first local business to be the subject of a Cash Mob.
Organized by Sherrie Breese, the mob descended on the business last Thursday. Approximately 15 people arrived at the store at the same time to spend at least $20. It’s the first of what Breese hopes will be many efforts to support local businesses.
It’s a novel approach to stimulating the local economy, if for no other reason than it’s a grassroots initiative.
This isn’t a case of local government initiating a program to drive business to local stores and outlets, though those efforts certainly have merit.
Nor is it a case of businesses themselves pounding their proverbial drums in an effort to encourage people to shop locally rather than head to the city.
This mob (and the one planned for International Cash Mob Day on Saturday at Old Crow Books) is an example of local residents taking it upon themselves to support the businesses that have set up shop in their town.
People who choose to live their lives and raise their families in a small town are clearly invested in its future, and business is undeniably the engine that powers such a place. A community isn’t complete without thriving local businesses. Not only do they provide much-needed jobs, but they also serve as examples for other businesses who might one day decide to come to town themselves.
So it is in everyone’s interest to keep the local business community strong. The more residents shop locally, the stronger those businesses become and the more likely it is that more and more businesses will choose Athabasca and the surrounding area as a new home.
Breese and her fellow ‘mobbers’ should be commended for their ingenuity in supporting local business and casting more light on the options local residents have right here in their own community.
