By Steve Gwisdalla, Founder, Tribe of Up

My friends, I fretted over authoring this article. I woke up out of a very sound sleep early Sunday morning with the title of this article running on a continuous loop in my mind. The reason I am fretting is because I do not want this article to be viewed as if I am on a soapbox. On the contrary, what is in my heart as I write this from my heart.

Spending any amount of time in our wonderful communities this fine paper writes about, you will meet a multitude of local heroes who dig deep. They dig deep with kindness, with joy and with servitude. Having met and spoken to teachers from Dexter, Chelsea, and Saline and I can tell you, they dig deep for their students. They give until it hurts with their time, their hearts, their knowledge, and often, with their wallets. Budgets are stretched thin and some of the things they know they need to teach their lessons the way they know is necessary, they buy supplies or equipment themselves. They dig deep!

Now think of our local businesses. Repeatedly they are called upon to sponsor a little league team, donate for causes and give until (I am certain) it hurts. And then when we need something, we go to Walmart or online to Amazon because we can save a few pennies. I am guilty of it as much as anyone. But our local businesses are the heartbeat of our communities, and they are asked to dig deep almost daily. Today I am asking for a favor from the Tribe of Up community.

Buy local.

Buy local.

Buy local.

Recently, I began serving on a non-profit board here in Dexter. EFD’s (Educational Foundation of Dexter) mission is to help teachers in our community by awarding grants to help fund things that stretched budgets cannot. Educational field trips. Unique teaching tools like 3-D printers, new teaching toys for our youngest learners, specialty items for special education students and the list goes on. I have been learning firsthand in my first few months on this board just how deeply local businesses dig for their towns. I have said this before, but it bears repeating. I have never seen Amazon sponsor a T-ball team or Realtor.com sponsor a softball team. You know who does? Local businesses. It is time we dig deep my friends. If I need a few hardware supplies, I happily go to Hackney in Dexter or Great Lakes Ace when I am in Chelsea. When I need cough syrup or a prescription filled, I will always go to Jensen’s in Dexter or stop into Hometown Pharmacy in Chelsea. Going out to dinner? I always eat locally.

My friends, we in the Tribe of Up talk about advocating for more joy all the time. I have met teachers who have been awarded grants from the EFD and have spoken with them about what that grand does to help students learn and grow. I am proud to be a part of an organization dedicated to helping the most dedicated people I know, our local teachers. Chelsea also has a similar non-profit, the Chelsea Education Foundation (CEF). I am certain if you are reading this in another community, you will find a non -profit organization that has a similar mission. My friends. Dig deep. Support local any way you can. Now more than ever, they need us. Dig deep with your time, talents, money, whatever you can. I buy local whenever I can. I am offering my time and talents (I use that last word very loosely) to one of the worthiest organizations I have come across in the EFD. We can all do our part to help dig deep. Thank you!

Steve is a Dexter resident and the Owner, Chief Digging Officer and Shovel Sharpener at Better Place Consulting, a coaching firm specializing in success and career coaching. Reach out to him at steve@betterplacemgmt.com.