Yearly Archives: 2018
Keeping Hearts and Bellies Warm
It’s the time of year when we see more and more neighbors stepping out to lend a hand and making an extra effort to share goodwill. Enjoy a recent good tiding from Front Porch Forum…
“My daughter works as Zachary’s and last night (12/23) she accidentally accepted a reservation for a family for the next night (12/24), not realizing the restaurant was going to be closed for xmas eve and xmas day. She didn’t get a phone number, just a first name so there was no way to call them back. The manager opened the pizza place tonight (12/24) for the family and he, my girl, and a couple of other generous people chipped in to serve them up their dinner.
Now that is is above and beyond. Good job on all parts, especially the manager, for caring so much about his customers that he didn’t want the family to show up to a “closed” sign AND for NOT getting mad at my sweet pea for her mistake. Nice all the way around! Happy Holidays everyone.” • Diane E., Waterbury, Vt.
A Win-win Story
Positive outcomes abound on Front Porch Forum as neighbors share gratitude, thoughts, and even leftover paints.
“I wanted to pass on to you a win win story thanks to Front Porch Forum! I am the Director of Theatre Adventure of New England Youth Theatre in Brattleboro. I read in Front Porch Forum that Joanna R. was giving away interior latex paints. I was interested because I was in the beginning stages of working with two scenic artists to create a rolldrop for our next production.
I wrote to Joanna that I was interested in her free paints. She immediately wrote back and invited me to come look at them and take anything I was interested in. I did just that! I left Joanna’s with a full trunk of many cans of paint and a smile on my face. The artist who painted the Brattleboro street scene with these newly acquired paints was equally pleased!
See the photo for the finished scenery that we will use for our April production, “Raising Our Voices Together.” • Laura in Guilford
Wishing all a merry and bright holiday season!
More Neighborly Communities
Front Porch Forum members report closer-knit communities.
“We live in a world in which we need to share responsibility. It’s easy to say “˜It’s not my child, not my community, not my world, not my problem.’ Then there are those who see the need and respond. I consider those people my heroes.” “• Fred Rogers of Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood
Lynn A. of Montpelier, Vt. says “Front Porch Forum: discovering Vermont’s neighborly spirit, one glorious post at a time.”
FPF members report knowing and trusting more of their neighbors than national averages, resulting in closer-knit communities. Neighbors who know each other are more likely to lend a hand in times of need, whether it be loaning a pressure canner, larger-scaled community projects like organizing a foodbank, or emergency efforts.
FPF co-founder Michael Wood-Lewis shares that “when neighbors know each other and offer help or advice among each other, social capital accrues. FPF fosters real connections throughout networks of neighbors, and those ties bring genuine value to a community. Why buy a new ladder when you can borrow one from a neighbor?”
Front Porch Forum is a place where folks can learn their neighbors’ names and share hopes for the community and perspectives on local issues. The forum enables participants to familiarize and become informed online so that they can get out and have face-to-face discussions and take action offline. The result: optimism, unity, trust, and helping one another.
Stephanie Teleen, Neighbors Day VT organizer, uses Front Porch Forum to get the word out. She says “there are a few things you can count on in Vermont: beautiful scenery, ample snow, and Front Porch Forum. When Vermont became the first state in the country to celebrate Neighbor’s Day on June 2, 2018, FPF was the first and only statewide organization to help promote this event. Why? Because FPF knows the value of personal connection and communication within our communities. Neighbors Day happens once a year, but FPF works to connect neighbors every day, all year long. FPF is like a digital potluck with no cooking required! Being neighborly is paid forward in Vermont… to everyone’s benefit..”
*The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation funded an independent third-party, Network Impact, to design, implement and analyze an online survey of 132,188 Front Porch Forum members in March 2017. 13,086 Vermonters completed this 20-minute survey. With a 99% confidence level, the survey results represent the full FPF membership.
**2015 Robert Wood Johnson Foundation National Survey of Health Attitudes
Heartfelt gratitude for our fire fighters
It’s witnessing these acts of neighborliness that has such an impact on FPF members.
“On a slushy, awful night, there was a grease fire in an apartment above Delish and The Quirky Pet. I got the call and rushed downtown to find our fire department walking through my wet shop as well as Delish where the water was literally crawling down the walls. This might sound trivial, but the concern they showed for the health and well being of my eleven parakeets in the aviary was extraordinary. All are healthy and present for because our fire department made sure my shop was powered up to remain warm and was smoke free before they left for the night. The same concern was shown for the well being of the dogs and cat in the apartments upstairs. Our fire fighters alongside my husband and me carried load after load of candy into my pet shop saving Delish’s livelihood. They didn’t have to join in on that.
It is really unfortunate that most of us don’t really notice the fire department until they are involved in a fire call. Montpelier’s fire department is a tightly run shop of really caring people who are very good at what they do. You don’t normally see them get mentioned in Front Porch Forum.
As a Montpelier business owner… and a resident of Montpelier as well, they have my heartfelt gratitude not only for what they did for Delish and my shop but for our upstairs residential neighbors as well on a very messy night weather-wise.” • Richard in Montpelier
When the power is out, neighbors offer help
Those with the means to help their community did so on Front Porch Forum!
“The school will be open as an emergency shelter. If you or someone you know might need a warm place to stay or a source of water, you are welcome to take shelter in the school’s multi-purpose room. Please bring sleeping bags, food and any supplies you need. You are welcome to fill your own water containers in the kitchen.” • Principal, Robinson Elementary School
“While parts of town are without power, we want to let everyone know if they need to get fresh water, charge a phone, use the WiFi, or just hang out in the light/warmth, they are welcome here. We are happy to open our doors to community members during this inconvenient time.” • Priscilla at Quarry Hill Farm
“If you are a local who is out of power, you are more then welcome to come here for a shower!”
• Erin at The Climb Fitness Center
“We have space in a chest freezer if you are out of power and want to save some of your freezer goods.” • Lisa in Richmond
America is suffering an epidemic of loneliness
A recent opinion piece in the New York Times had us reflecting on how Front Porch Forum works to bridge loneliness.
Photo credit: John Taggart for The New York Times
FPF‘s community-centric framework has created a powerful norm of neighborliness that builds enduring social ties.
Investing in climate change insurance? Try community resiliency
A recent article in New York Times… 
Climate Change Insurance: Buy Land Somewhere Else
In case global warming makes their homes uninhabitable, some millennials have a Plan B: investing in places like the Catskills, Oregon and Vermont.
Buried among several examples of people who think the answer to large-scale catastrophe is striking out on their own is the following gem…
Bruce Riordan, program director for the Climate Readiness Institute at the University of California Berkeley, cautioned that it isn’t realistic to expect to live in a bubble. “Sure, you can grow your own vegetables, but what about wheat and grains?” he said. “And what happens when you need medical attention?”
Mastering surgery would certainly be a lot harder than learning to grow tomatoes.
A better strategy, Mr. Riordan suggested, would be to find a community that is intelligently preparing for whatever climate change may bring. He equated the situation to what California has done about earthquakes: They can’t be avoided, but we can build safer buildings, get better at predicting them and establish systems to care for vulnerable populations when they occur.
This jibes with Front Porch Forum‘s experience. When disaster strikes, the most resilient communities are those full of neighbors who know each other, know what’s going on, and who have a record of helping each other and accomplishing things together.
See what’s shaking!
Heat it up at “the best dance party of the year” at the 10th Annual Shake Off Fundraiser to benefit VT Access. Tomorrow evening, Saturday, Dec. 1 at Main St. Landing Union Station in Burlington, from 6-11pm. Join the Family Glow Dance 6-7:30!
Helping our neighbors after snow storms
With winter storm Bruce hitting New England, Front Porch Forum members prepare to help
“I came across one of our elderly neighbors out shoveling by hand and having a hard go of it. I stopped to meet her and finish it up for her, and she was lamenting that none of her neighbors who she’s known for many many years offered to help, even the ones with snowblowers. I asked if she was on FPF and she reported she didn’t have a computer or internet. We had a nice talk while we worked together, about her church and spiritual understanding, and community and our collective cultural woes as we all retreat more and more behind our screens.
It was a sweet connection, and I felt well paid by the companionship and exercise. So now I’m back home behind my screen again, reaching out to my neighbors and inviting you all to come out after storms, and see what we can do together to help out our neighbors!“ • Ark in So. Burlington
About Blog
Ghost of Midnight is an online journal about fostering community within neighborhoods, with a special focus on Front Porch Forum (FPF). My wife, Valerie, and I founded FPF in 2006... read more
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