FOLEY — December marks two months since the launch of the "shop local" program by Foley Main Street.

Executive Director Darrelyn Dunmore said the gift cards will help Christmas shoppers shop local.

The community gift card, called Downtown Dollars, is a Mastercard gift card that will work universally at multiple local Downtown Foley businesses. This program is continual and will be around for quite some time according to Dunmore.

"It's just really wonderful," Dunmore said. "This just a kickoff and we are planning on keeping it around for a long time-not just for the holidays."

The executive director added that Foley Main Street invested $1,000 in a fall campaign so when individuals purchase a gift card, there is a 25% discount until the funds run out.

"This way it will give people incentive to buy the cards," she said. "We met our goal of reaching 20 businesses that accept this MasterCard and now we are working on getting all the stores."

"A lot of local people love our small businesses and we always seem to go to them when we want something," she said. "Whether it's a donation for school or for the church, or for some type of raffle for the nonprofits and this is a way to support our small businesses."

Businesses like GypsyQueens Java are just one of the 23 local businesses in Downtown Foley that are taking part in this program.

"Darrelyn Dunmore made it sound like it was a really good idea and it seems smart because you can get one gift card and it works for multiple businesses," GypsyQueens Java owner Shay Borodaj said.

Shay and Shelly Borodaj opened their coffee shop on West Laurel Street in April and want to make sure people do not forget about the local businesses, as these help keep the community together.

"We want to try and build up Foley's downtown community," Borodaj said. "It is huge for our business. The more that they build up down here, the better for us because it keeps the place busy."

Other businesses such as Action Game and Movie, As Seasons Change Down South, The Book Exchange, Foley Coin Shop and more are taking part in this program.

Gift cards can be purchased on the Foley Main Street website.