Consumers Energy grant helps double downtown shoppers’ money.

Consumers Energy grant helps double downtown shoppers’ money.

LUDINGTON — In an effort to assist in this challenging time, Consumers Energy is helping Michigan communities stretch their dollars to support small businesses and their employees through a buy-one-get-one gift certificate program. The Our Town promotion will double the amount shoppers can spend in downtowns across 56 communities and Ludington is on that list.

“Small businesses are the backbone of the communities we serve, and every community has seen those businesses feel the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Lauren Youngdahl Snyder, Consumers Energy’s vice president of customer experience “With Our Town, we want to end the year by spreading cheer. We are putting dollars directly into shoppers’ hands to help them stretch their budgets and give a boost to shops and restaurants in their hometowns.”

The Our Town promotion starts today, Thursday, Dec. 10 on Downtown Ludington’s online store (https://shop.downtownludington.org) and via the “Shop Now” button on its Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/DowntownLudington). Gift certificates can be purchased in increments of $10. The program will run until the matching funds are gone. To ensure as many people get to take advantage of this program as possible, matching funds are limited to $100 per transaction.

“We are so thankful that Consumers Energy included Downtown Ludington in this program.” said Jen Tooman, communications and marketing manager for Downtown Ludington. “The promotion will put $20,000 total into our community and I know our restaurants and shops will appreciate the boost right now.”

The Downtown Ludington Board is a non-profit organization that aims to support businesses within the Downtown Development Authority (DDA) district via special events and marketing. Learn more about the efforts of the organization at DowntownLudington.org or Facebook.com/DowntownLudington.

Please consider helping to fund local news. Mason County Press and Oceana County Press are available for free thanks to the generous support of our advertisers and individuals who support our service. Click on the PayPal donation button located on the top right of our website.