The COVID-19 pandemic has led to nearly 10 months of hardship for Butler County residents and the business owners who make their living in the region.

So it’s good news that a program operated by the county’s Tourism and Convention Bureau brought in $81,000 during the holiday season to help local businesses.

The bureau’s $25 Butler County Gift Certificates — which are for everything from restaurants and stores to campgrounds and golf courses in the county — are sold year-round, but were promoted during the holidays as a means to support local business owners at a time when they could really use it.

Credit is also due to Butler Health System, which purchased more than 2,500 of the gift certificates to give to its employees to show appreciation.

The state and county have been forced to deal with two shutdowns this year as a result of the pandemic, and many restaurants have been left to rely on takeout orders during those times to make a profit. Even when stores and restaurants were allowed to be open, they’ve been required to operate at lower capacities, and the virus has likely scared away some customers who have made it a point to avoid others not in their immediate families.

So the Tourism and Convention Bureau’s success in pushing the gift certificates during the holidays should be commended.

The county’s stores and restaurants — but also its cultural attractions and other institutions that rely on the public — are what make the area unique. Nobody wants these businesses to disappear. We agree with Ken DeFurio, president and CEO of Butler Health System, who said that the program was a great way to “support our local businesses, who so desperately need our help right now.”

We don’t know how long the COVID-19 pandemic will drag on. We hope there will be no further shutdowns, but we can’t definitively say another won’t occur.

So the Tourism and Convention Bureau’s initiative this past holiday season was a great success, and we’d love to see more programs of this type as long as local businesses are struggling through this challenging time.

— NCD