VIDEO: Moms Find Meeting Place on Facebook

There is a common meeting ground where Westborough mothers gather at all hours of the day to share information and advice, and it is not the local coffee shop. It is online. The Westborough Moms Facebook page has over 400 followers and has become a resource for families throughout town. 

“I see it as a trading of talents, a sharing of ideas,” said founder and administrator Cheryl Lentine. “It takes the mom’s village and expands that village.” 

Cheryl, 42, started the page in early 2010 and had over 300 followers within a few months. Now, just a year later, that number tops 400 and continues to climb. 

The idea for the page came to Cheryl after a life-changing experience with a woman she met in Texas. Cheryl, owner and operator of the Joluka denim jackets company, traveled to a trade show in Texas about five years ago. She said that over the 3-day show, she got to know Dena, a woman from Texas who shared a neighboring booth. 

Dena was a two-time cancer survivor, having survived a bout with both breast and skin cancer. Cheryl stayed in touch with Dena by email and learned that the cancer returned in 2009 and Dena was given just a short time to live. In a final effort to save her life, Dena came to Boston for an experimental treatment at the Dana Farber Institute. 

“I knew I wanted to help, but I wasn’t sure what I could do,” Cheryl explained. “I sent out emails to my close circle of friends and they sent them to their friends, and soon we had a place for Dena to stay here in Westborough for her two month treatment.” 

What touched Cheryl about those two months in 2009 was the way in which a group of women rallied for a cancer victim they did not know. “Countless people wrote her letters of encouragement, spent time with her, donated cash and gift certificates,” Cheryl said. “It became a community full of love.” 

The treatment at Dana Farber was successful, and Dena survived the treatments. Cheryl said that, through it all, Dena was stunned by the outpouring of love from the Westborough community. 

“It was such an amazing experience,” Cheryl said. “I wanted a place where that spirit of love and kindness could continue. I wanted to capture what I knew was here.” 

The mother of three had a vision: create a forum where moms could come together and help each other in a “kind, giving, loving, warm way.” 

Westborough Moms was born and soon women from around the area started to post advice and questions. Where can I find a good plumber? Can anyone use the size 3 cleats that my son outgrew? Do you have blue blazer that my 8-year-old can borrow for his First Communion? Please recommend a babysitter who can drive.  

Cheryl said she checks the page about once a day. She looks to keep it free from spam and make sure that the comments are appropriate. She said she has never had a serious problem, just a few small ones that were easily fixed. 

Many of her friends do not realize that she is the administrator behind Westborough Moms, and that is fine with her. “I sometimes wish, though, that some of the moms on the page would friend my personal Facebook page. It would be nice for me to get to know some of these women,” Cheryl said, adding that she can be found on Facebook using her full name of Cheryl Duddy Lentine. 

In reflecting on her experiences over the past five years, Cheryl said that she was inspired by the giving spirit of the women in Westborough and she is grateful that the Westborough Moms page has become a place to “keep that spirit going.”

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