You name it, you can find it right here in Muskoka. Now by simply telling people what you’ve found, or commenting on what others have found, you could find yourself with hundreds of dollars to spend on local shops, restaurants, and services.
Watch for the Found It In Muskoka posts in January on the social media sites of the Bracebridge, Gravenhurst and Muskoka Lakes Chambers of Commerce. All you need to do is add your comment for a chance to win. Just write what you found, and where you found it in Bracebridge, Gravenhurst or Muskoka Lakes, for your chance to win one of three $50 gift cards every week. At the end of January, your Found It comment will enter you in a draw for the grand prize: one of three $500 shopping sprees.
“We launched the Found It In Muskoka Campaign in November to spread the word on the amazing goods and services right around every corner in south Muskoka,” says Norah Fountain. “We’ve discovered so many incredible finds, and now it’s your chance to tell us what you’ve found.”
Winners of the $50 gift cards can select the business of their choice to spend their money at, and the same goes for the $500 grand prize from all three Chambers. Bracebridge kicked off its first weekly draw just a bit differently with a specific prize: a $50 gift certificate to El Pueblito.
Fountain also wants people to know they don’t have to rush out and buy something right now to comment on. “It could be something you bought before the new January COVID restrictions,” she says. “We know people are supporting local businesses: we just want to encourage them to show everyone how and where they’re doing it to spread that local love even further.”
The Found It In Muskoka campaign includes your friends and neighbours on video talking about how important it is to look locally for goods and services – and how you might be surprised to find what’s right in your own backyard. You can check out the videos for yourself here on YouTube. New videos are going up almost daily.
“Since launching these videos, we’ve been able to highlight all kinds of different stores and services,” says Fountain. “I know in our Chamber alone we’ve touched more than 100 businesses through the course of this campaign so far.”
An easy way to see the wide selection of goods and services that Muskoka has to offer is to visit FoundItInMuskoka.ca. It’s connected to ShopMuskokaLakes.ca, a cooperative, online community marketplace that provides a selling platform both for vendors who had no previous online shop presence, retailers already experienced in marketing their products online, and even those not interested in selling online.
“This is our little way of competing against giants like Amazon,” says Fountain. “It’s incredible what you can find. For example, I needed N-95 masks and I was able to buy them on ShopMuskokaLakes.ca and have them shipped to my door in three days.”
Fountain says they’re still accepting local businesses onto the site, and the best part is, the Chamber is charging no fees for businesses who join the site as part of the Found It In Muskoka campaign.
We couldn’t have done any of this without funding from the Ontario Chamber of Commerce, adds Fountain. The Bracebridge, Gravenhurst and Muskoka Lakes Chambers are all members of that Ontario Chamber network.
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