MEDFORD, Ore. -- Right now a lot of local businesses in southern Oregon are having to make adjustments to their normal operations due to Governor Brown's "Stay Home, Save Lives" order. The order mandates that bars and restaurants can only serve take-out or deliver food. Other "non-essential" businesses are having to close their doors completely.
These changes got local entrepreneurs thinking about a way that they could help their fellow small businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic. That's how the website Southern Oregon for Southern Oregon, soforso.com, was born.
Abigail Schilling is the founder of the Medford Cowork Collective, and says she wanted to create a site that puts all the information in one place, so consumers can know if a business is open, its hours, and whether or not delivery is an option. "If someone wants to support a local business, it is a way to make it easy to figure out" Schilling says.
Schilling teamed up with Emmett Armstrong who has an eye for web design. Armstrong says they heard about a similar website running out of Oklahoma City. After reaching out to OkForOk, Armstrong says they were actually able to use the same template and make SoForSo come to life.
Armstrong says he wanted a way to help the community during this hard time, and this seemed like a good way to not only help local businesses, but help the people behind those businesses.
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If you are a local business and you would like to get your information on SoForSo, all you have to do is fill out this form.