Local First Vermont Launches “Local Love Fest”

Buy local and share the love to win prizes!

Burlington, VT – Buying local keeps our communities vibrant, supports small businesses and strengthens our local economy. Now, buying local can also help you save money and win prizes!

This month, Local First Vermont launched “Local Love Fest”, a new social media promotion to encourage Vermonters to buy local. Participants aged 13 and older can enter the promotion for a chance to win $50 gift certificates from Lake Champlain Chocolates, The Skinny Pancake, Pet Food Warehouse and many other locally-owned businesses. All they have to do is use their Buy Local Resource Guide and Coupon Book (also known as the Buy Local Book) to make a purchase, snap a photo and share the love on social media.

“We wanted to find a fun way to remind people to support locally-owned businesses, not just during the holidays but throughout the year,” explains Wendy Wilson McArdle, Local First Vermont Program Manager.  “Local businesses are really excited about the idea and have donated so many $50 gift certificates, it looks like we’ll continue the promotion and prize giving through 2016!”

 

Entering the Local Love Fest is easy:

  • Use the Buy Local Book to make a purchase. The Buy Local Book contains 230 coupons valued at more than $3,000 at some of Vermont’s finest locally-owned businesses.
  • Take a photo at the business. Include the Buy Local Book and be creative!
  • Upload the photo.  Put your photo on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram, include #vtlovefest and the name of the business in the caption, and be automatically entered in the Local Love Fest!

All photos uploaded will be entered in a weekly drawing for a $50 gift certificate from one of the locally-owned businesses listed below. McArdle also noted that the promotion offers an additional way to support business owners. “There’s an added bonus for the business mentioned most often in entries. That business will win a free coupon in the next Buy Local Book, so by participating in this promotion, you could really help a business out by giving them a key piece of their marketing budget for free.”

The Buy Local Resource Guide and Coupon Book is published each September by Local First Vermont, a program of Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility. The books sell for just $18 and are available at dozens of retailers in Addison, Chittenden and Washington counties, including Vermont Book Shop, City Market, Hunger Mountain Coop, and Danforth Pewter.

For more information about the Local Love Fest, the Buy Local Book and Local First Vermont, please visit localfirstvermont.org.

 

Local Love Fest Prizes

$50 GIFT CERTIFICATES donated from the following local sponsors:

  • BERTHA CHURCH – Burlington
  • CITY MARKET – Burlington
  • COPY WORLD – Barre
  • HUNGER MOUNTAIN COOP – Montpelier
  • JUNIOR’S DOWNTOWN – Burlington (donation courtesy of PAYDATA WORKFORCE SOLUTIONS)
  • LAKE CHAMPLAIN CHOCOLATES – Burlington
  • LOCALVORE TODAY – Burlington
  • MASSAGE VERMONT – Montpelier
  • THE MILL MARKET & DELI – South Burlington
  • PEACE AND JUSTICE CENTER STORE – Burlington
  • PET FOOD WAREHOUSE – South Burlington
  • PETRA CLIFFS – Burlington
  • THE RAINBOW ROOM – Middlebury
  • SKINNY PANCAKE – Burlington and Montpelier and more!
  • STONE LEAF TEAHOUSE – Middlebury
  • VERMONT FRAME GAME – South Burlington
  • WINDSHIELD WORKS – Williston

About Local First Vermont:

Local First Vermont is a program of Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility. Our mission is to preserve and enhance the economic, human, and natural vitality of Vermont communities by promoting the importance of purchasing from locally-owned independent businesses. We achieve this through education of citizens, businesses and local governments.

About VBSR:

Founded in 1990, VBSR is a statewide, non-profit business association with a mission to advance business ethics that value multiple bottom lines: economic, social, and environmental. Through education, public influence, and workplace quality, VBSR strives to help 760+ members set a high standard for protecting the natural, human, and economic environments of the state’s residents, while remaining profitable. Learn more or join the cause at HTTP://WWW.VBSR.ORG