An open letter from TY students: Christmas Golden Ticket Chocolate Bars

Dear Leitrim
Covid-19 has affected us all in many different ways, there’s no doubt about that.
 Everyone misses the days when there was no such thing as social distancing or lockdowns. Here at Carrick-on-Shannon Community school, we, the Transition Years, have undertaken a project to help give back to our town – Carrick-on-Shannon!
Local businesses have been through a lot. Lockdowns have really damaged our economy on both a local and national scale. But by shopping locally, we can give back to our community! 
The tight-knit community of Carrick-on-Shannon consists of so many amazing shops and restaurants, which are owned by the everyday people of our town. 

Please know that when you choose to spend your money locally, and not on-line with mass global corporations, you put your money right back into the pockets of your neighbours, friends and family.
 Many of us have relatives who own businesses and we assure you, all efforts to help local businesses are deeply appreciated! 
There are 48 TY Students in Carrick Community School this year. We decided we wanted to do something to help to promote Shopping Local, we wanted to do something to help OUR town.
We also wanted to a little bit of magic during this somewhat lackluster Christmas. So…..
We have sourced and designed Carrick-on-Shannon Christmas Chocolate bars to spread the #BeLocal message in a sweet, delicious fashion. But that’s not all folks!

There are some Willy Wonka themed Golden Ticket prizes hidden in some of our bars!!! These Golden Tickets, kindly sponsored by local businesses are worth €50 to be spent in different businesses in our town.
The idea is simple: Support our local community and spread some Carrick-on-Shannon Christmas joy when you buy one of our Bars. They are for sale in outlets throughout Carrick for €3.

Enjoy the bar yourself, or gift it to family in Australia, Canada or Cork! Our aim is to make sure that every Christmas stocking in Carrick-on-Shannon has a #BeLocal Christmas Bar in them. And remember it’s a real-life Willy Wonka experience – there are over 30 €50 Golden Ticket Vouchers to be won! You could be one of our lucky winners!
This is a self-funded campaign. There are 48 of us students, we all have had jobs to do to organise this project. We have divided ourselves into a sales team, a marketing team, a finance team, a design team…
We have 1,800 bars in total to sell and we have an important message to share.

We would like to thank all the businesses who have supported us and there is still time for others to get involved – just message the mycarrick.ie facebook page.

Please also know, that all profits made from this project will be donated to our chosen charity: The North-West Hospice.  

Thank you for reading and for your support. Wherever you live in Leitrim, the Carrick Community TY Students ask you to #BeLocal and #supportlocal this Christmas.

Yours sincerely,

Kaelan Hanifa,
On behalf of the TY 2020 Students at Carrick Community School

PS: We have set up an Instagram page – be sure to follow us -  @belocal_carrick_chocolate.