Lara joins Go Local First

LARA Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has joined the Go Local First campaign to encourage locals to support community businesses and hasten the townships recovery from the pandemic.

LCCI president Karen Madden said the business group’s participation in the campaign would positively influence local trade.

“We’re representative of a couple of hundred businesses around Lara that are trying to revive themselves post-COVID.

“It’s twofold: it encourages businesses that have been struggling that there is community support and that they are not in this alone.

“Then, from an economic sense, if we can get people to shop at local businesses that will help create local jobs and will also see the money reinvested into the community, such as through businesses sponsoring sports clubs.”

Federal Member for Coria Richard Marles said he believed the camapaign would be of great value to the township.

“The Lara business community are like most regional towns which have been hit hard by COVID-19,” Mr Marle said.

“By supporting local businesses, you are putting money back into the local economy, supporting jobs and helping our region recover quicker.”

LCCI will now push the campaign with signage around town and through social media.

Ms Madden said the campaign will involve all manner of businesses, “everything from hairdressers, to cafes, to local health practitioners.”

She said many locals’ preference was already to shop local, and it was now about ensuring they were comfortable to return to shops.

“Lara is a real community anyway. The campaign is just a different way of reaching out back out to the community and encouraging them to return to local stores.”