Program helps Cumberland County teachers who buy local

A new program in Cumberland County is helping teachers who buy local.

Work Perks offers discounted services to teachers and school employees who make purchases at area businesses.

“It’s been a tough couple of years as far as pay raises and things such as that,” Cumberland County Schools Superintendent Frank Till said. “This is a way for the community to say, ‘We appreciate what you do.’ We’ve got some people who are giving discounts on rent and some other things such as that, and food. It’s just a way to say we care.”

Till said there is power in numbers. Cumberland County has about 6,500 teachers and school employees.

And buying local is something Till tries to do when making purchases for the district.

“You figure that our budget is about a half a billion dollars a year, and the more we can keep in this community, the more we can help the businesses here,” Till said. “This program will help small businesses that attract our employees, so it will be close to a half a billion dollars in our community.”

About two dozen businesses have signed up to take part in the program so far.