ELKHART — It's the time of the year when area stores are gearing up for holiday sales. For many locally owned businesses, it's become a time of uncertainty.

One community is hoping their plan will keep local cash registers ringing.

"It's a scary time for many retailers — there are credit issues, from the individual consumer right on through large corporations right now. Finances are tight," said Daniel Reynolds of Stephenson’s Apparel.

To combat the uncertainty, Elkhart has created the "Buy Local" campaign. The goal is to boost sales and even jobs at local stores.

"Really it's not rocket science; it’s pretty simple — just spend money locally," said Elkhart Chamber of Commerce president Phil Penn. "So that will help ensure those jobs and help the Elkhart economy."

Local merchants say they realize the state of the current economy may have a bearing on holiday sales this season, and anything that can be done to improve that outlook would be greatly appreciated.

“Yeah it’s been really tough down here in the last couple months since the stock market started to take its dive and all of the RV places started going out of business,” said Taffy Wuthrich of the Dollar & Cents store. “It’s really put a hit on us people down here."

"I think people just need to be reminded to shop in the local area," added Jonathan Tuff of Garber's. "There are so many stores all over town that offer so many different things. You don't have to go out of the area to find what you're looking for."

To help support local businesses, the Elkhart Chamber of Commerce has a list of its member businesses and local restaurants online. You can also buy gift certificates to those places through the new site. Click on the link in the Related Content box for more information.