The HelpSLO Facebook page has garnered significant traction over the past year in response to the work the page has done during the pandemic.
HelpSLO Founder and Cal Poly Professor Leah Wood started the page to assist community members with having easy access to the help they need.
Wood said, “It was nice to just put something out there that could help and provide some kind of safety net for people and some kind of mechanism for people being able to say I need something or someone.”
Help SLO Admin Ethan Stan said, “It felt great to just show up and help people especially things were so scary.”
In addition to helping community members with needs, fundraisers, and donations, the page also promotes local businesses free of charge on Saturdays.
Wood said, “We carved out this space on Saturdays where we said here’s a time, go wild.”
Help SLO Admin Danielle Fried said, “I’ve had small businesses reach out to us that said the reason that we exist still through the pandemic is because you allowed us to post.”
Help SLO Admin Rebekah Akins said, “We easily have from 10 to 20 local businesses to small businesses in our area that are on there consistently every week.”
The admin team has the goal and vision of reaching more businesses while also bringing in more volunteers.
Fried said, “I would love to see us partner with more businesses to get them on our small business page.”
Akins said, “Over time we’re going to find that right fit to be able to support us with the email.”
Wood said, “Folks everywhere I believe want to help and be a part of this.”
Stan said, “This weird little scrappy Facebook group has turned out way better than we ever expected.”
The Facebook page has 7,700 members as of May.
The Facebook page can be reached at https://www.facebook.com/groups/helpslo.
HelpSLO can also be contacted at www.helpslo.com, helpslocounty@gmail.com, or at their contact number, (805) 996-0554.
