Ghost of Midnight

Vermont Vision For Youth Success

Together with many other organizations, Front Porch Forum was honored to partner with Vermont Council on Rural Development (VCRD) in their multi-faceted effort to research and write the newly released report, the Vermont Vision for Youth Success. FPF helped VCRD to gather critical survey data and organize discussions about key issues by posting messages across the state. More than 600 Vermont youth and allies participated.

The report names six key areas requiring attention and offers four overarching recommendations. Connection to community, as a solution, is a steady drumbeat noted throughout the report. Front Porch Forum can and does play a healthy role for that kind of connection, both for youth and adults.

“Opportunities for Work and Life Experiences within and Beyond the Classroom” and “Spaces and Activities Accessible and Welcoming to Youth and Families” are named as critical needs. But, what does it look like when communities offer their young people opportunities to connect? This! We see postings on a daily basis from businesses and organizations announcing programs and events where youth are encouraged to participate, learn, and engage.

Here are just few FPF postings we’ve seen lately that meet this need:

• Waterbury Public Library invites “Teens to hang out for Mini-Golf, Pizza, Switch games & Board Games to celebrate school being done!”
• Water Wanderings’ is promoting “Hands-on, fun and enriching camp equip campers with practical skills in fire building, knot tying, canoeing, cooking and more while also teaching them about local ecology, sustainability, equity, community, and art,” on the Green River Reservoir in Hyde Park Vermont (tents, food, and canoes provided)
• Middletown Springs “University” (a community-based learning hub) is hosting a “Teen Cookie Gathering.”
• Hannaford Career Center in Middlebury announces “Teen Makery: Three labs are available each week – Woodworking, Sewing, and Magic: The Gathering. Youth can simply show up to the Career Center any Thursday afternoon.”

Local programs are an essential way for youth to connect to community. Front Porch Forum is an essential tool to help amplify these spaces and events.  So, please post youth-focused offers to your local FPF Forum and Community Calendar. It works!