BAY CITY, MI – Many people have favorite local businesses in the Tri-Cities, but what if they could be saving money each time they shop there?
The Great Lakes Bay Dining & Entertainment Card, or GLB card, offers just that and more.
Owners Ashley and Brent Mason launched their business in 2022. It’s based on Brent Mason’s business, Golf Passbook Michigan, where passbook holders can save money for a round of golf from 129 Michigan courses.
Since they both grew up in the area, and Brent Mason served in the Air Force, it was important to the couple to support veterans, local businesses, local rescue missions, local food pantries and fellow community members, Ashley Mason said.
“The whole mindset behind it was to help community members,” Ashley Mason said. “We’re a full community give back partnership.”
For $30 per year, the GLB card can save money at more than 185 restaurants, entertainment venues, retailers and professional services in the Great Lakes Bay Region, Ashley Mason said.
A portion of each purchased GLB card is donated to local non-profits, such as I Support the 1%, which is a veterans food pantry, Rescue Ministries of Mid-Michigan, East Side Soup Kitchen in Saginaw, Shelterhouse in Midland and the CAN Council in Saginaw.
The GLB cards can be bought directly through the Great Lakes Bay Dining & Entertainment website and there are fundraising opportunities as well, Ashley Mason said.
“We’ve had different schools reaching out to us wanting to use our card as a fundraiser, so now we’re doing fundraising with it,” Ashley Mason said.
Ashley Mason said the fundraising operates on a consignment basis, so the local schools only pay for the ones sold and return the rest. As an extra bonus, the school gets to choose which charity receives a portion of the sales.
Businesses don’t have an upfront cost either. They just offer a discount to card holders and Ashley Mason markets for the business on the Great Lakes Bay Dining & Entertainment Card Facebook page.
“A lot of these places are probably places that people already visit or frequent and they don’t know. So, the idea is maybe you’re only saving, you know, $2.50 somewhere, but you’ve gotta think of the long term of throughout the year,” Ashley Mason said.
Recently, a customer reached out to Ashley Mason and told her that he saved around $1,500 after tracking how much he saved at each business he visited throughout the year.
“The idea is that he’s saving all throughout the year, he’s supporting the local businesses and then with his card purchase, he also helped give back to the community,” Ashley Mason said.
Ashley Mason said they are trying to sell about 1,000 cards before Christmas because then they would be able to donate a total of $10,000 to the local rescue missions and food pantries.
With unlimited visits throughout the year, shoppers can save anywhere from 10 to 20% off each time they purchase from a participating business, Ashley Mason said.
Card holders must present the card at each participating business. There is a QR code on each card so customers can scan it to see the current list of participating businesses. More businesses can join the program at any time, Ashley Mason said.
Any businesses in the Great Lakes Bay Region that want to join this program can reach out to Ashley Mason via email, [email protected], or by phone, 989-964-8699.
See a complete list of all the participating businesses on the Great Lakes Bay Dining & Entertainment website here.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.mlive.com ’
