To The Editor:
All of those who live in or visit the Mad River Valley are incredibly fortunate to enjoy many local businesses, especially for a community as small as ours. These businesses provide almost everything someone might want or need, or can at least order it for you, and the folks who run these businesses are some of the most generous people I’ve ever met. Our local businesses deserve a lot of credit for the strength of more nonprofit community organizations than I can count on my fingers and toes.
Our friends, families and neighbors who run the local businesses donate thousands of dollars to the area’s nonprofits every year, and these nonprofits serve the community in so many ways that benefit so many people. Among a long list of other reasons to buy local, community vibrancy derived from the work of nonprofits is why it’s so important that we spend our dollars at our local stores in a time when millions of products can be shipped to your doorstep with a couple clicks of a computer mouse.
Buying local has always been a practice of the Mad River Path, and recently we put this practice in writing:
“Mad River Path commits to buying supplies and materials from local Mad River Valley businesses first and foremost. Only when an item or similar item cannot be found in stock at a local business nor can it be ordered by a local store in a reasonable timeframe will the organization make the purchase from outside of the Mad River Valley or online.”
In partnership with the Mad River Valley Chamber of Commerce, we encourage other nonprofits and businesses to copy and reuse this language and proclaim your commitment to our local economy. Whenever you might be tempted to buy something online instead of from one of our local businesses, just remember that your local purchase is helping to build and maintain trails, protect the river, fund the ambulance service, keep Little League going, and so much more.
Ross Saxton, executive director
Mad River Path
