When it comes to finding a good online community, you can sift through hundreds of groups before discovering the right one for you. Ashleigh Deakin, founder of the Houston County, GA Moms Facebook page, also struggled to find a good local group, never mind connect with one. “My son was 6 months old at the time and I had searched around Facebook to see if there were any in our area, and I didn’t see any,” she recalls. “I said, let me just create one that all moms can be a part of. ”Ashleigh looked at Facebook groups for women in surrounding areas to see what she could offer in Houston County. In a group based in Macon, Ashleigh met Danielle Sweeney, a military spouse and mother of three. Based on their location, Ashleigh says, “We started talking and Danielle agreed with me that creating a group for Houston County would be better [for us].”Tiffany Francis was alongside Ashleigh and Danielle when they officially launched the Houston County, GA Moms Facebook page in July of 2019. Later, Anya Turpin, Special Events Manager for Perry, and Lauren Causey joined them as moderators. “I chose these ladies to help moderate based on their group tenure, how active and helpful they were in the group, and their response on how they handle conflict. ”Each woman was determined to let the community know about the support they could find in this local online group. “We just invited our friends and then they invited their friends,” Ashleigh says. Excited to get the ball rolling, the trio spread the word about their Facebook page–and it caught like wildfire. In the beginning, Ashleigh admits, “I honestly did not realize that it would become this big. I started the group thinking maybe I’ll have just 1000[members].” Ashleigh quickly saw that many women and more joined the Facebook group. By early 2022, the group surpassed 3000members.On the page, members are invited to post questions and offer suggestions on any given topic. Women asked about online school suggestions for stay-at-home moms, storms surging through the area, female specialist recommendations and much more. “We have a lot of people that make posts. It could be about anything,” Ashleigh says. “They’ll say, ‘Hey, I’m interested in hiking or wine nights, let’s meet up.’ When people make posts, they have a lot of good responses.” Women that are new to the area can use this group to make friends and get plugged into the community. With a simple post like, “New to the area, looking to make friendships over a mutual love of coffee and live music,” members can quickly find their soul sisters. “It’s amazing how many people have met up through my group, and they’re friends for life,” Ashleigh reports. “I love seeing that. ”Ashleigh is committed to providing fun and helpful resources for the women of Houston County. She personally keeps up with special events and relative news to share what is going on with the group. “You have a lot of posts ranging from events to if school is closed next week. It’s a very active group. ”In her commitment to providing helpful information to members, Ashleigh keeps a close eye on the content streaming through her platform. “We keep things positive; we don’t allow any sort of negativity in the group at all,” she says. “You’re going to experience very welcoming and very nice moms that have been through a lot and they’re willing to share their experience. ”On the off chance that someone makes a questionable post, Ashleigh is quick to reign it in. “If I see that a post could go a certain way, I tend to monitor it right then. But for the most part I don’t have to police it that much because people give genuine advice. ”Ashleigh talks about the diversity of the group and how each member brings for the new perspective and fresh ideas. “We have members that range from young moms to grandmothers, women of color, single moms, LGBTQ+, etc.,”Ashleigh says proudly. “We also have moms in our group who hold various employment positions such as in city council, board of education, police officers, news media reporters, teachers, lawyers, business owners, etc. ”Given the sheer size of this online community, you are bound to find even just a handful of women you relate to and connect with. For whatever reason, Ashleigh says that older women tend to opt out of online mom groups such as this. However, on Houston County, GA Moms, she says, “A lot of grandmothers and older moms are active as well, and it’s nice to see this. It’s just nice being able to see all these different types of moms active in the group. ”A unique feature of the Houston County, GA Moms Facebook page is the ability for members to post anonymously. A few members have reached out to Ashleigh in their varying needs. “Whether they need assistance with their power bill, rent or childcare, we like to have those[resources] on hand because we want to provide those to moms that may need it. ”It makes Ashleigh truly happy to help these women. She shares one experience saying, “We had someone that wanted to know if there was free mental healthcare. They needed to talk to someone mainly through text messages.” Hearing this, they provided them with a crisis line to reach out for help. Through this Facebook page, Ashleigh has met many great friends as well as prominent community members. One such woman she has grown close with is April Brooks Bragg, CEO of Robins Regional Chamber. April runs the Robins-to-go Facebook page that offers local recommendations for all community members. Ashleigh tells me,“[April]was getting a lot of posts about baby formula and she said, ‘We’re likely going to refer these people to you because it would be better suited to your group than Robins-to-go.’ ”This working friendship helps both women provide accurate resources tailored specifically to each community member. “It’s nice to get involved with city leaders,” Ashleigh says. While Ashleigh created the Houston County, GA Moms group primarily for other moms, she has thoroughly enjoyed every connection it has brought her. “I can’t even count how many people I’ve met,” she says. “There are some very good friendships that have blossomed for me personally.” When Ashleigh needs advice, she takes to the Facebook page herself. “There’s no judgement. You have the support of 3000 people.” What more could you need? Ashleigh promises to potential members that, “When you join you are going to be greeted with open arms and no judgement. We want everyone to feel welcome and here to stay. ”Join today and see what fun lies ahead. You never know, your new best friend could be one click away!