Small business drive aims to support workers

DAYTON — Small businesses in the Dayton area and throughout Ohio are banding together to support for working Ohioans and to attract more customers.

Forty-five merchants in Montgomery County have joined the Proud Ohio Workers program, which aims to encourage residents to shop and eat at locally owned businesses that show their support for public and private employees, said coordinator Stacey Benson.

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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