Businesses that join the Proud Ohio Workers organization display a sticker with the program logo and are added to the organization’s website at www.proudohioworkers.com.
“We want to ensure that all small shops local biz merchants remain open,” Benson said Monday during a press conference at the Ohio Coffee Co., 46 W. 5th St., in Dayton. “We’re about supporting and creating good jobs in middle class and working class. We think this program does this.”
The program has been up and running for about four weeks, Benson said. Most of the local businesses that have signed up are in Dayton, Kettering and Huber Heights.
Keeping money local is the first step in turning around the area’s economy, said Rebecca Ledingham, who co-owns the Ohio Coffee Co. with her fiance, Rob Gray.
“You need to support local restaurants and local businesses and keep the money local and in our community,” she said. “We support the program because we believe in Ohio and we want our economy to get better.”
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