Businesses step up to help community
I always love when people email or call me with potential column topics and ideas. I really love when those topics and ideas are about people and businesses helping others in our communities.
I got one of those phone calls this week about some local businesses donating heating and furnace inspection service to some elderly, low-income and disabled customers in the area. Local businesses participating included Fayette Heating & Air Conditioning, Economy Furnace Co. Inc. and Kelly Construction, all from Uniontown; Stambaugh Plumbing & Heating Inc. of New Salem; and Tri-County Mechanical Services of Brownsville. My friend, John Torbich, from Fayette Heating said that his technicians donate their time to service the community.
Undoubtedly, there are many more businesses and employees in the area doing great things for others. That’s one of the best things about our local, small businesses — they will be the first ones to really step up and help out. A majority of our local business owners are very much invested in their communities and the well-being of the residents.
Their continued support of local residents and other business owners is crucial to the ongoing fight to make our local economies sustainable.
The businesses that are members of the Buy Local Network program understand this concept very well as they offer discounts on goods and services to people that have a Buy Local Community Discount Card. They also adhere to the six principles of the program including:
n Local economy: Money spent at locally owned businesses continues to circulate locally and strengthen the local economy.
n Local character: Local businesses reflect the needs, values and traditions of the community; emphasizing customer service is about providing a quality of life experience for the customer.
n Local health: Locally owned businesses have a higher commitment to the health of the community, especially the physical health of their family, friends and neighbors.
n Local environment: The impact that citizens have on the environment is an important aspect of the sustainability of a community.
n Local food system: A sustainable food system ensures profitable farms and increases access to fresh locally produced food, in turn enriching the lives of the entire local county.
n Local reinvestment: Locally owned businesses invest personally and financially in the well being of their neighbors through support and participation in community projects, groups and nonprofits.
If you would like to learn more about the Buy Local program and get a Community Discount Card go to www.buylocalfayette.org.
We recently added several new businesses to the program including Adrian’s Market in Hopwood, Caporella’s Bella Cucina, Romeo & Sons and World Importing Market, all in Uniontown. We’ve also expanded the program into Greene County, and soon will be expanding into Westmoreland County.
It’s great because now we all have even more places to use the discount card while supporting our locally owned businesses. And that’s more places my 14-month-old daughter can walk — or should I say run? — in.
If there are local businesses that you would like to see on the program, make sure and let us know.
Call me or email at 724-437-7913 or loris@faypenn.org.