By Mary Owen
Local businesses will get a helping hand from local high school students to create Facebook pages, thanks to a new program sponsored by the Stayton Sublimity Chamber of Commerce.
“Quite a few local businesses did not have Facebook pages and did not even know where to start,” said Elaina Turpin, assistant director at SSCOC and seamstress in charge of the Etsy site, Elaina’s. “It’s becoming more common for people to expect that a business has a Facebook page.”
Several people asked Turpin questions about Facebook, spurring her to action.
“I didn’t have time to set up all the one-on-one help that a person would need to set up and learn to use Facebook for their business,” she said. “I knew that Facebook was second nature for today’s teenagers, so it seemed like an easy leap to see if high school students would be interested in partnering with business people.”
Turpin contacted Kelly Fields, the Future Business Leaders of America advisor at Stayton High School. The two met to discuss the project, which will match SHS students with local business owners.
“We haven’t yet matched the businesses with the students,” Turpin said. “Students are still getting into the swing of the school year, but we hope to have them matched and working together by the end of the month.”
So far, Trexler Farms, Curves, Camp Taololi and Santiam Canyon Stampede have expressed interest, Turpin said.
“It looks like we will have enough volunteers so that each business can have the one-on-one help that they may need,” she said.
“We hope that this project will help the businesses learn to use Facebook, help the students understand how businesses work, and to foster relationships between the high school students and the business community,” Turpin said. “Our business community is great at helping our schools. They sponsor teams, donate money and prizes for all sorts of events, but oftentimes, that relationship is a bit one-sided. This gives the students a chance to give back and contribute to the businesses that have done so much for them.”
Turpin hopes the program will help students learn and grow in ways that will lead them to become successful entrepreneurs.
“I would love to see some students learn that owning a business is a possibility because of these relationships,” she said. “I want the kids to have hope that there is a larger realm of career possibilities than they ever imagined. I think it benefits the entire community having these bright, engaging kids stay in our town and start businesses or work in the community.”
Last year, two students regularly came to Greeters, a Chamber outreach program.
“Since we’ve started back up this fall, we’ve seen the same number, but these weren’t always the same students,” she said. “I think that it gives the students an opportunity to practice public speaking and to become more comfortable with the business people that may someday be their employers.”
The opportunity always offered businesses a chance to support students, she said.
“I think that the students were surprised at how much fun Greeters is,” she added.
Opening partnerships through programs such as these de-mystifies relationships between businesses and students, Turpin said.
“The students realized that working with the business community was a lot more fun and less scary than they imagined,” she said. “I think that made them more likely to volunteer and invite their friends to come, too. The business people got to view another side of the students, who will at some point be applying for jobs at many of these businesses.”
The new Facebook program is another step in the right direction, she added.
For information, contact SSCOC at 503-769-3464.
