One Albert Lea business is doing its part to give back to the community.

It began earlier this summer when Bill and Paula Hertling, the owners of Leuthold’s in Northbridge Mall, started to design a new local incentive program.

The idea under the incentive program is for people to first stop by, call, fax or e-mail Leuthold’s with their name, address and telephone number. The information will be kept in a confidential database, and then anytime they buy something at Leuthold’s, 2 percent of their total purchase goes back to the Albert Lea School District.

The store would make payments to the district’s general fund on a semi-annual basis. The money would not be earmarked for a certain purpose, but would go toward the school district’s needs at that time.

The program was approved at the Aug. 7 Albert Lea school board meeting, and now the Hertlings are eager to spread the word of the plan and get it off the ground.

The goal is to help offset the cost of the programs that are offered in the district.

It is similar to St. Theodore’s School Scrip program, in which the school buys gift cards at a discounted rate and then sells them back to people at face value.

“Small businesses are the backbone of a local economy and schools are the backbone of our future,” Bill wrote in a letter to the school district. “We hope that our incentive plan will soon be adopted by other area businesses. By working together, businesses and schools will mutually benefit.”

With two children in the school district himself, Bill said he knows state funding to schools has been cut, and things he once took for granted at school are now having to be paid for by parents.

The program would not only help the school district, it would help local businesses, too.

He said he hopes the idea will help encourage local shopping and show people what really is available in town. Then, if something can’t be found in town, it almost always can be ordered in.

“The whole idea is to get people to think, ‘If I can do it locally, why won’t I at least give that person a shot,’” Bill said. “Sometimes people don’t think of the local stores for their purchases.”

The Hertlings hope other small businesses will jump on board and recognize the importance of the program.

“We’re really excited about the fact that a local business is coming forward with this idea,” Albert Lea Superintendent Dave Prescott said. “It’s a good thing for everybody.”

The program comes at a time of much discussion about shopping locally.

Bill said he will begin advertising the plan soon to other local businesses.

Eventually they want to approach other school districts as well that are within a 30-mile radius.

To become part of the program, call the Hertlings at Leuthold’s at 373-3142 for more information.

Leuthold’s is a locally-owned and operated business since 1917.