FLAT ROCK, Mich. (WXYZ) — A Facebook group called "Downriver and Friends" has become a powerful force for community support in Michigan's Downriver area, helping save local businesses and bringing neighbors together in times of need.
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The group, which started in 2013 with just nine people, now boasts more than 177,000 members ranging from residents to business owners across the Downriver community.
"In 2013, in Downriver, there were a lot of vacant buildings, mom and pop shops were going away and we really wanted to keep that Downriver feel," said Jennifer Guest, one of the group's founders and administrators.
A butcher shop's second chance
Jim's Butcher Shop on Telegraph near West Huron River Drive has been serving fresh meats to the Flat Rock and Downriver areas since 1974. But in 2018, the family business faced closure due to economic challenges.
"It was right after Meijer had opened, and we just experienced a lot of decline in business. My dad and all of us did everything we could to keep the doors open but it was just not going to happen," said Stacy Latimer, manager at Jim's Butcher Shop.
The shop's fate changed when a regular customer wrote a letter about saving the business. After the letter made its way to social media, including the Downriver and Friends group, community support poured in.
"You know how social media goes, this person shares it and this person shares it and this person shares it. And people just kept coming in," Latimer said. "It was everything. It's the reason we're here right now."
Community support beyond business
The impact of Downriver and Friends extends far beyond helping businesses stay afloat. Guest has witnessed the group's members rally around neighbors facing personal crises.
"We've seen where there's someone's house has burned down, and we have members the next day, and they have a whole new house furnished and they don't even have a house yet," Guest said.
The growth of Downriver and Friends has surprised even its founders. What started as a small effort to preserve the community's character has evolved into a platform where neighbors support each other through everyday challenges.
"It's not easy to keep a small business running and especially for over 50 years," Latimer noted, highlighting the ongoing challenges facing local businesses.
Guest sees the group as embodying an ideal vision of community support.
"It's kind of what we envision for the world. We want everyone to support each other and know you have your neighborhood behind you," Guest said. "Just to know that I had this much to do with it, it just fills me with joy."
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