Working fulltime and raising children keeps most moms busy enough. Between work obligations, after-school activities, sports and family time, parents are lucky if they have a few moments of ‘down time’ at the end of the evening. But Sandy Murphy decided to add another obligation to her already full plate when she moved to Dublin, Ohio, three years ago and was underwhelmed by existing resources to connect with other parents.
Sandy had never lived in the suburbs before so wasn’t quite sure what to expect in terms of resources. Her childhood was spent in the country in Northwest, Ohio in Fostoria and then later in apartments throughout college while she attended culinary school. The move to Dublin was a definite change for Sandy. On top of raising her two children, Ella, 5 and Zoey, 3, maintaining a healthy relationship with her husband, Austin and starting a new job with Buckeye Interactive as a Business Development Manager, Sandy felt the desire to create a Facebook community to help her and other fellow moms
connect.
So, in March of 2017, she did just that-Sandy created a brand-new Facebook group — Dublin Ohio Moms in the Know — to connect with others in her community. The group started with Sandy and three other moms in her neighborhood, and since then membership has exploded to 7,600 with nearly 6,900 of those members active on a monthly basis. Despite the group name, Sandy has made a great effort to ensure all people, from all walks of life, are welcome. “I want to be inclusive to moms and dads of all different backgrounds, shapes and sizes,” she explained.
And what will you find in this group? Recommendations for everything from local doctors and dentists to the best bras for plus-size women to good pug breeders….all have been seen on the wall. The one thing you won’t see a lot of however, is unsolicited advertisements clogging up the feed. That’s because in this group, the advertisements are limited to paid ads. Sandy explained the choice to accept only paid advertisements. “I don’t want there to be so many ads that it takes away from what the group’s purpose is,” she stated. This decision of Sandy’s has enabled the group to stay focused on providing recommendations for local events and restaurants as well as showing support as a community.
Sandy recalled an instance where a young woman was invited to a formal dance, but unfortunately did not have the money to buy a dress. The community rallied. Dresses were offered up left and right, from complete strangers… just because a young lady in their community was in need — almost like borrowing a cup of sugar from a neighbor back in the day, but for the digital age. Sandy stated:
“The community (that this group) has created within itself is all about helping
people. I think people feel a sense of pride when they are able to respond to people’s questions.”
Sandy’s choice to accept paid ads has also recently led her to begin a new undertaking. In August, Dublin Ohio Moms in the Know began contributing a portion of the advertising funds to the Dublin Food Pantry to help those in need. Sandy shared that people facing hunger in Ohio are estimated to report needing $829,430,000 more per year to meet their food needs and an estimated 1.75 million are struggling with hunger – and of them 528,960 are children. Her message to all businesses that choose to advertise on the Facebook page is a BIG thank you and she is grateful to them for helping to make a difference in the Dublin community.
Interested in joining the Dublin Ohio Moms in the Know Facebook group?
Even though it’s a closed group, you can search Dublin Ohio Moms in the Know on Facebook and request to be added to this ever-growing community.
And head over to OhioQuarterlyMagazine.com to see Sandy’s top five child-friendly recommended places in Columbus.
