This year's Spend in Glen Christmas promotion, due to start on November 15, is vitally important to local businesses, Glen Innes and District Services Club general manager Pat Lonergan said.
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"With the present economic climate and the problems everyone's had with COVID, and businesses, we just thought it was something that was needed for the town."
The Services Club has donated $10,000 to the Spend in Glen campaign, an amount Glen Innes Severn Shire Council has given to the promotion for the past 13 years, until this year.
"We were very disappointed council decided not to back Spend in Glen when we thought this was the year it was really important that we had Spend in Glen in town to try and help the businesses out," Mr Lonergan said.
"We're a community club, and we thought this was something that the community needed, so we decided to back the promotion."
Not only does the Spend in Glen campaign encourage shoppers to support local businesses and buy locally, there is prize money up for grabs.
The money donated by the Services Club goes toward buying gift cards to spend at local businesses to be used as prizes in the promotion. Any business in the Glen Innes Severn Shire can be involved. Historically businesses pay $50 to participate, however this year it was decided to reduce the charge to $20 as it's been a difficult year for businesses.
Community members enter the competition by spending $20 or more in one transaction at a participating business. Over the final three weeks of the promotion, up to December 23, there will be draws with winners receiving gift cards from $250 up to a big prize of $1000 on the final night.
"It's a significant amount of money that people get," Spend in Glen organiser Moira Munro said.
On hearing about the Services Club's generosity, two other donors have also donated $1000 each. Half of that will be put into a draw on the final night for a local business to win a cash prize, with the other $1000 going toward an on-the-spot draw for a community member who has entered the draw.
"It was just great, these two other donations just completely out of the blue just because they're impressed by what happens and they want to do something to help the town," Moira said.
"People are so enthusiastic just because it's happening again. We were all so used to do the idea it wasn't on (because of COVID).
"I'm hoping it will be a really good Christmas trading period, because it's been a really tough year for business," Moira said.