Outside the Box

Vermont political leaders from Republican Gov. Jim Douglas to Independent Congressman Bernie Sanders have made appeals this year, asking Vermonters to spend a good deal of their holiday gift money inside the state.

In a time when shopping is dominated by huge retail malls and catalogues and now, increasingly, on-line shopping, these leaders have pointed out that Vermont’s small retail businesses can get left out in the cold. A click of a mouse may be an efficient way to get a package sent in three days from California or India or wherever, but the money itself heads out of state—sometimes WAY out of state. Local shopping, on the other hand, triggers the economists’ "multiplier effect" by sticking in the community, sometimes going around three or four times.

Words from the governor and others are well-placed, but one local institution is really DOING something about it. Each December for the last eight years, Gifford Medical Center has been giving all its employees "Gifford Gift Certificates" that are good only in area stores and restaurants—a list of businesses to choose from is printed on the back of the certificates.

The certificates are given in place of traditional Christmas bonuses, and the goal is to encourage local spending to create a strong local economy. For the last three years, according to communications specialist Robin Palmer, Gifford has pumped more than $30,000 each year into the local economy, putting the "Gifford bucks" into the hands of 430 employees. That’s a lot of local shoppers.

"It’s worked for me," Palmer says. "Nearly all my gifts this year came from local shops. And I spent a lot more than the value of my Gifford certificates once my eyes were opened to all that we have locally."

Congratulations to Gifford Medical Center and its president Joe Woodin for thinking "outside the box" in its support of its employees and community!