Crawford County, Ohio – As businesses continue to navigate the COVID-19 pandemic, and much of the public considers how to support their local businesses, multiple Crawford County businesses have teamed up to encourage shopping local in a fun way, “Crawford-Opoly”.
“We’ve made a game out of shopping local,” said Miranda Jones, Executive Director of the Galion-Crestline Area Chamber of Commerce. “We thought this was a fun way to support our businesses, especially our retailers and restaurants. Whether it’s generating more purchases, or simply encouraging someone to reacquaint themselves with some of Crawford County businesses, it’s a perfect excuse to shop local in November as the holidays approach.”
Inspired by the popular board game, Monopoly, the two chambers of commerce in Crawford County, the Bucyrus Area Chamber and the Galion-Crestline Area Chamber, have teamed up with First Federal Community Bank to develop a way to safely drive more foot traffic to local businesses. Fifty chamber member businesses signed up for a space – called a “property” – on a monopoly-like game board. Those businesses provided gift cards to their locations and were then randomly grouped in different color sections made up of five properties each.
“You play by collecting property cards, which you earn by visiting the location of that business,” explained Jessie Furner, Executive Director of the Bucyrus Area Chamber. “Some businesses will hand out their cards to any visitor, while some businesses have cards that can only be earned with a purchase. Once a player has collected all five cards in a color category, they should enter their information on the back and return them to either the Bucyrus or Galion-Crestline Chamber’s offices for a chance to win several different prizes.”
Prizes for each color category will include a $10 gift card to each business in that color category, for a total value of $50. There will be two winners per category, for a total of 20 – $50 winners. Also, First Federal Community Bank donated $1,000.00 for the grand prize drawing, which players are entered into if they collect 25 property cards by November 30th. This “$1,000 Community Shopping Spree” will include 10 – $100 gift cards to chamber members businesses.
“We appreciate the opportunity to support this project and are hopeful the Crawford-Opoly game will drive traffic and revenue to local business in Bucyrus, Galion, and Crestline. This project supports our brand and Community is our middle name.” states Brad Murtiff, President of First Federal Community Bank.
Each corner also has a property card that can only be earned through online engagement. One corner property is earned by sharing a picture of a visit to a Crawford Park District location to the “Crawford-Opoly” Facebook Event. Another corner property can be earned by donating to a particular non-profit or purchasing/renewing a membership to a local organization. Snap a picture of your receipt, or membership card and post to the Facebook event or email it to either chamber director.
“Crawford County is fortunate to have so many non-profit and membership organizations – many of which are managed by volunteers – that support the community in a variety of ways,” explained Furner. “We wanted to make sure these important organizations continue to be supported, especially as this pandemic has altered how many of them raise funds.”
The third corner property can be earned by visiting any Crawford County business, snapping a selfie in the business, or taking a picture of their receipt to be uploaded to the Facebook event. The fourth corner can be earned by completing an online review of any Crawford County business.
“Rather than offer ‘Community Chest’, we’re asking the public to help with ‘Community’s Best’,” said Jones. “During the month of November, visit any Crawford County business’s online review page – whether it is Yelp, Google, Facebook, etc. – and leave a positive review. Take a screenshot of that review and post it to the Crawford-Opoly Facebook event. Each unique entry we receive will qualify that person for a chance to win special prizes from Iconic Rock Q92.7 WQEL being drawn on the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Wednesdays of November.”
The chambers will kick off the event Monday, November 2nd and collect property cards until Monday, November 30th. Prize drawings will be held Wednesday, December 2nd.
For more information on the Crawford-Opoly Game, please visit www.bucryusohio.com or www.galion-crestlinechamber.org. You can also contact the Bucyrus Area Chamber of Commerce directly at 419-562-4811 or by emailing [email protected] or the Galion-Crestline Area Chamber at 419-468-7737 or by emailing [email protected].
