Category Archives: Burlington
Does FPF effect local community? Survey says…
Before and after FPF… does it make a difference? We just concluded a survey of 964 Front Porch Forum (FPF) members (out of 6,500 invited). We asked FPF members to answer two-part questions about their experiences since joining FPF vs. before FPF.
Front Porch Forum helps neighbors connect. In the survey, 18% more members reported knowing most of their neighbors since joining FPF (vs. before joining FPF).
FPF also helps Vermonters get informed about local issues. Nearly four times more FPF members reported feeling “very informed” about local community issues since joining FPF.
And FPF helps people get involved and build community. About one-third more members work to make change in their local communities monthly since joining FPF.
See more results below.
Thanks to all who participated. And congratulations to Allison in Greensboro for winning our iPod prize drawing.
FPF helps people connect with neighbors. Since joining FPF…
- 3% more members say “hi” to neighbors monthly (vs. before joining FPF)
- 10% more members find it very/somewhat easy to make friends among neighbors
- 18% more members know most neighbors
- 24% more members have neighbors over to their home monthly
- 37% more members share goods or favors with neighbors monthly
FPF helps people get informed about local issues. Since joining FPF…
- 29% more members share news with neighbors monthly
- 68% more members feel “very informed” about local shops
- Two times more members feel “very informed” about local government services
- Nearly three times more members feel “very informed” about local clubs/organizations
- Three times more members feel “very informed” about local contractors
- Nearly four times more members feel “very informed” about community issues
- Four times more members feel “very informed” about opportunities to get involved locally
- Ten times more members feel “very informed” about neighbors’ views on local issues
FPF helps people get involved locally and build community. Since joining FPF…
- 10% more members intentionally “buy local” monthly (now 73% of members)
- 15% more members perform local volunteer work monthly
- 33% more members contact local public officials monthly
- 33% more members work to make change in their local community monthly
- 38% more members attend local public meetings monthly
- 43% more members attend local events monthly
- 89% of members have recommended FPF to someone
- 98% of members say that FPF helps their local economy (businesses find customers and new employees, neighbors save money, etc.)
Compelling one-day conference Sept. 23…
Registration just opened for…
Vermont Connected: Envisioning the Future of Vermont’s Digital Economy
Tuesday, September 23, at the Vermont State House in Montpelier.
Vermont Connected will be the culmination of the work of the Vermont Digital Economy Project, looking forward to Vermont’s future and sharing recent lessons learned from helping small businesses, nonprofits and towns in Vermont to effectively use digital tools. Tracks include:
- Educating for a Digital World
- K-12 and Beyond
- Bridging the Digital Divide
- Building Effective Organizations
- For Nonprofits
- For Small Businesses
- Creating Resilient Communities
- Open Data in Government and Beyond
- Resilience through Engagement
- Steering Vermont’s Digital Future
- Vermont’s Technology Industry
- The Creative Economy
Learn more and register today!
Front Porch Forum is one of many participating organizations.
Moose in Burlington’s Five Sisters neighborhood
Shared by Sue on today’s Five Sisters Front Porch Forum…
Roger, sharp-eyed and vigilant Charlotte Street neighbor, caught a snap of our Tuesday morning neighbor…
Reports Roger: “It was surreal seeing a moose waltzing down Charlotte St.”
Neighborhood dogs (well, one in particular) say: “Surreal schmurreal. Where’s the blood pressure medicine?”
Others reported on FPF seeing the moose near Oakledge Park.
Check out Nik’s video in the comments… next to Calahan Park in Burlington.
Talking about community in Vermont
Front Porch Forum‘s service has been and will be the topic of several discussions around Vermont, including:
1/06/2014 – Live and Local on WKVT AM in Brattleboro (click to listen)
3/05/2014 – Franklin Grand Isle Community Partnership monthly meeting in St. Albans
3/26/2014 – Business/Marketing Group regular meeting, hosted by Women’s Small Business Program, CVOEO, CEDO and SBA in Burlington
3/29/2014 – ACORN Sustainable Living Expo in Middlebury with VCRD (write up)
4/02/2014 – 69th Annual Town Officers’ Education Conferences in Fairlee with VCRD (write up)
4/09/2014 – 69th Annual Town Officers’ Education Conferences in Burlington with VCRD
4/23/2014 – 69th Annual Town Officers’ Education Conferences in Killington with VCRD
Please contact us if you’re interested in putting Front Porch Forum on the agenda of your upcoming event.
Burlington a “most promising tech hub of 2014”
From VTDigger…
Burlington’s burgeoning high-tech culture has put it on a start-up map. The website techie.com, which documents emerging technology trends, named the city one of the country’s 10 most creative up-and-coming hubs in 2014.
The home city to Dealer.com one of Burlington’s most extraordinary success stories with its recent sale for nearly $1 billion also scored 38th on Lumosity’s recent “100 smartest cities” report…
Social media groups like the Front Porch Forum also helped Burlington earn its badge for civic participation. But the combination of online and “in real life” activity is part of what set the city apart.
7 Words for 2014 FPF Raffle
Enter the 7 Words for 2014 FPF Raffle and win a sweet prize! Enter before noon Jan. 9… just submit a posting to your Front Porch Forum that contains EXACTLY seven (7) words and you’ll be in the running for one of these great prizes
• One Apple iPod Touch from Small Dog Electronics
• One overnight room at The Essex Resort and Spa
• Four passes to the Pump House Indoor Waterpark at Jay Peak
• One $50 gift card from Laughing Moon Chocolates
• Seven pints of SoYo frozen yogurt
• One-month family membership to The Edge
• Two tickets to Golden Dragon Acrobats on March 5 at the Flynn Theater
• One $115 gift bag of gardening gear from Gardener’s Supply Company: A puddle proof field bag filled with an array of gardening gear, including Pocket Snips & Pruners, Nitrile Gloves, Fiskars Trowel, set of Wooden Garden Markers, U Mark Garden Marker, & 12 packets of vegetable seeds
Thanks to our wonderful sponsors who contributed the prizes listed above.
I’ll post some of the entries here later see submissions from past years here. Happy posting!
P.S. Comments on this blog posting are welcome, but they will not enter you into the raffle. To enter the raffle, go to FrontPorchForum.com, LOGIN, then click SUBMIT POSTING.
UPDATE: Wow! Front Porch Forum members submitted more than 3,000 postings as entries into the 7 Words for 2014 Raffle. Thanks to everyone who participated.
Without further ado, the winners of the prize drawing are…
One Apple iPod Touch from Small Dog Electronics
• Matt Riley, Middletown Springs
Saw a snowy owl near Addison Sunday.
One overnight room at The Essex Resort & Spa
• Adele Sweet-Mcfarlin, Reading
Kissing nuns? Don’t get in the habit.
Four passes to the Pump House Indoor Waterpark at Jay Peak
• Pamela Campbell, Montpelier
Wanted: free plane ticket to anywhere warmer.
One $50 gift card from Laughing Moon Chocolates
• Saint Rosner, Marlboro
Why’s the sand wet? Because the seaweed.
Seven pints of SoYo frozen yogurt
• Jane Sobel, North Bennington
North Bennington walks vanquish cabin fever blues.
One-month family membership to The Edge
• Susi Taylor, Burlington
Life before Front Porch Forum was complicated.
Two tickets to Golden Dragon Acrobats on March 5 at the Flynn Theater
• George Brewer, Middlebury
For Sale, portable confessional, YES portable confessional.
One field bag full of gardening gear from Gardener’s Supply Company
• Amy Marcinko, Richford
Front Porch Forum is better than Facebook.
Winooski neighbors rally to aid of fire-victim family
Vermonters have always helped neighbors whose homes burn. And with Front Porch Forum at their disposal, this response can easily increase 10 or 100 fold.
Here’s an example from this week in Winooski from the Burlington Free Press…
The Winooski School District has raised over $4,000 so far as part of a fundraiser for the victims of an apartment fire that displaced 21 city residents last Thursday night, Superintendant Sean McMannon said. Six students were directly affected and displaced by the Malletts Bay Avenue blaze while two other students had family members who were affected, McMannon said. The Winooski district offices are collecting cash and check donations only, according to McMannon…
McMannon said Wednesday that the fundraiser had begun the day after the fire, and the district has mainly gotten word out through its website, a post on the Front Porch Forum website, and through emails within the school…
Since Thanksgiving, 21 families and 60 people have been displaced from their homes because of fires, according to a newsrelease issued by the Vermont and the New Hampshire Upper Valley Region Red Cross Wednesday. The Red Cross, who assisted in relief efforts for the victims Thursday, said fire is “the disaster most likely to befall someone in our region.”
[C]ity manager Katherine “Deac” Decarreau said Winooski citizens have been “extraordinarily generous.” “The generosity is overwhelming, and from all areas from the community,” Decarreau said. “It’s really heartwarming.”
Donations to victims of the Malletts Bay Avenue apartment fire can be sent to JFK, Main Lobby, Middle School-High School or District or mailing to WSD, 60 Normand Street, Winooski, VT 05404. Checks can be made out to: WSD-MBA Fire Support.
Caroling on Caroline with Carolyn
Caroling is one of our few remaining traditions where it’s acceptable to go door-to-door in your neighborhood and engage neighbors. Trick-or-treating… student fund-raisers… campaigning during election season… it’s a short list.
Our neighbor and local photographer, Carolyn Bates, has been organizing Caroling on Caroline Street with Carolyn for 20+ years… and it’s always a treat. Last night’s snowfall set the perfect scene. Thanks Carolyn et al.!
VPR Commentary: Online Networking
Hear, hear, Helen! Take a listen to Helen Labun Jordan’s Vermont Public Radio Commentary broadcast today…
Winooski neighborhood watch
Winooski’s City Manager extolled the virtues of better connected neighbors to combat a recent spate of break-ins, including using Front Porch Forum (on Channel 22)…
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
Post Categories
- Uncategorized
- PDF2009
- Calendar
- Northeast Kingdom
- podcast
- Big Tech
- Peer Rental
- Events
- Localization
- PDF2007
- Web Traffic
- Google AdSense
- Pay It Forward
- Elections
- berkmansunlight
- Maps
- Video
- Upstate New York
- Coupons
- Wildlife
- Mobile
- Viral Marketing
- Raffle
- Donations
- Crisis Response
- Best of FPF
- Lost & Found
- Gratitude
- Real Estate
- College Students
- Social Responsibility
- Orton Family Foundation
- Start ups
- Make It Your Own Awards
- Online Civility
- Clay Shirky
- Newspapers
- How To Use FPF
- Humor
- Online Classified Ads
- Peer Reviews
- Politics
- Community Management
- Economic Development
- Local Reviews
- Case Foundation
- Borrow and Lend
- Neighborhood Watch
- Good Government
- Small Business Advertising
- Citizen Journalism
- e-Vermont
- Democracy
- Local Search
- Knight Foundation
- Burlington
- MacArthur Fellows
- Civic Engagement
- Social Media
- social capital
- Social Networking
- Vermont
- Neighborhood
- Community Building
- Local Online
- Front Porch Forum