The following post was provided by the Canadian Credit Union Association (CCUA), World Council's direct member organization in Canada, and was written by Libro Credit Union, which serves members at 41 locations across southwestern Ontario.

Libro Credit Union is calling on the people of southwestern Ontario to show their support for local businesses with the launch of the Loyal 2 Local Challenge.

As part of Libro’s ongoing work to grow prosperity for everyone in the region, the credit union is asking the public to make a purchase at a local business and join a massive effort to promote those businesses at a time when so many are fighting to survive.

Libro, a certified B Corp, has started a wave of support for local businesses. On Friday, May 22, Libro gave each of its 700 employees $25 to spend. They were asked to buy something from their favorite local business and post about it on social media, tagging Libro and using #Loyal2LocalChallenge.

As well as immediately putting thousands of dollars into the local economy, the initiative is designed to start conversations about the value of local businesses to southwestern Ontario, and the many reasons why we all love to buy local. It ties in with Libro’s four key focus areas, which inform every decision made at the credit union.

“We know many people are already supporting local businesses during the pandemic and we want to encourage more to join in and everyone to talk about it,” said Emily Strybosch, Brand Specialist at Libro Credit Union. “It’s all about making the choice to support local and asking others to do the same thing. It makes sense for the local economy, too, because money spent in local businesses keeps more of our resources in the area. There are so many positive stories for us to tell about local business of all kinds and we enjoy telling them, so let’s show our love and loyalty for everyone working hard to keep their southwestern Ontario businesses running during COVID-19.”

The Loyal 2 Local Challenge runs through June 5, and Libro will be sharing stories on social media channels throughout. 

It forms part of a business support strategy at Libro that includes, but is not limited to, expert coaching, tailored products and full participation in government programs set up to support businesses during the pandemic.

Independent businesses*:

•    Recirculate up to 4.6 times more revenue in the local economy than multinationals.
•    Recirculate up to 63% of their revenue back into the local economy compared to 14% for multinational corporations.
•    Produce up to 8.4 times more jobs per square foot & up to 8.1 times more revenue square foot than multinationals.

Source: The Economic Impact of Local Business, BC Buy Local Campaign.