🌟 Shop Local with Purpose! 🌟

As the holiday season approaches, the Union County CEO team was honored to welcome Ms. Susan Odum, Extension Specialist for Community Development with the University of Illinois Extension, for an engaging and eye-opening presentation on the importance of shopping local.

Susan shared her extensive knowledge and experience working with rural communities, helping our team understand how everyday spending choices directly affect the local economy. Through interactive activities, the students explored how money “leaks” out of the county when it’s spent elsewhere—and how powerful it can be when we keep it local.

One of the most thought-provoking exercises illustrated the multiplier effect—the idea that every dollar spent locally can circulate within the community multiple times before leaving it. For example, $10 spent at a Union County business might be spent again and again by that business owner or their employees—supporting other local stores, service providers, and families. That ripple effect strengthens schools, roads, libraries, and job opportunities right here at home.

The AJ Wildcats Mariel McGrath’s reflections show the impact Susan’s presentation made on the team:

“On Thursday we met back at the Union County Farm Bureau and had a visit with Susan Odum from the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign. During our time with her we went through two different ‘games’ related to the economy of a small town and local businesses.

The first one was kind of like Shoots & Ladders, but for the cards we drew we had to name a local business that fit the description. Through this game I realised how many local and small businesses were in our area. I knew most of them, but there were many that I had not heard of.

The second game we played gave us three options on where to spend $10, based on the card we pulled from the deck. These options of where to spend our money included the mall, internet, or a local business. The purpose of this exercise was to show us how quickly money can leave the community and not come back. The longest amount of plays a $10 bill stayed within the community was only 3, and Ms. Odum had said that for a community to do really well it should be closer to 7. I had never thought about the importance of spending at local businesses like this and this made it easier to imagine how quickly money can be lost in a small town.

Despite all of this, she said Union County has been doing a great job at keeping its loss down, and I do think I have noticed more community involvement and local shopping in more recent years than there was before. Overall I really enjoyed this day and all of the exercises we went through and I feel like I learned a lot from them!”

As the holiday season approaches, we challenge everyone to pause and ask: “Can I find this locally?” Every purchase makes a difference. 💚

Thank you, Ms. Odum, for an enlightening and impactful session that reminds us all to Keep It in the County and Shop Local! 🛍️