Category Archives: Community Building

Building Community in an e-State

Posted on Thursday, April 24, 2008 by • 1 comment

Vermont is working to become the first “e-State” with availability of broadband internet and cell phone coverage across 100% of the state… by 2010. The “100% of the state” bit is ambitious and lots of people, organizations are businesses and contributing toward the realization of this goal.

The State of Vermont justifies this ambition saying it will be good for economic development, healthcare, education, public safety and more. And part of the “and more” usually includes a vague reference to the e-State being good for society and civic engagement. Can the internet and cell phones enhance the sense of community in a town? Many people feel these tools actually turn people’s attention away from local community.

The Snelling Center is stepping in to address this issue with a one-day event on May 29, 2008…

Explore public policy issues, opportunities, and potential obstacles that will arise as Vermont becomes fully connected.

  • How might civic life change in a fully connected state?
  • How will we master emerging technologies so they unite us and strengthen communities?
  • How will we address issues of privacy, equity, resistance to change, ownership, and cost?
  • How will local and state governmental units ensure that all citizens have equal access to information and participation?

Details, agenda, and registration.

The keynote speaker will be Lewis Feldstein, Co-Author of Better Together, which he wrote with Bowling Alone author, Robert Putnam. Putnam will be speaking at UVM on April 28, 2008.

Pecha Kucha Night Montpelier

Posted on Tuesday, April 22, 2008 by • 1 comment

My old friend Lars is up to some new tricks in central Vermont…

I am asking everyone I know to support a new effort in Montpelier: the Onion River Exchange’s Pecha Kucha Night. The idea is pretty cool, and really simple:
– Two rounds of presenters
– Each presenter has 6 minutes and 20 slides with which to present their idea
– 5 presenters each round
– Do it somewhere fun, with food and drink

Think of it as TED meets speed dating – in Central Vermont. Seriously, should be a lot of fun – especially with YOU on stage 😉

Anyway, here’s what I’m asking:
– Think of yourself as someone who might want to present a big, bold idea you’ve been slaving away on
– Pass along the flier to anyone else you know who has an idea they’ve been working on and encourage them to contact me.

The invitation is *especially* for those whose work communicates well visually. They should get in touch with me BEFORE April 30.

So, let’s paint the town Pecha Kucha!

Thanks, and hope you’re enjoying this prime gardening weather.

Lars Hasselblad Torres
www.mixedmedia.us + www.peacetiles.net

Very Important Posting

Posted on Friday, April 18, 2008 by • No comments yet

Perhaps the most important neighborhood posting ever made on Front Porch Forum came through in Williston today…

“Hello – We just moved to the area and heard the ice cream truck!  Is there anyone who knows it’s regular route, and/or how we can get him to stop for our little one! We live on N. Brownell Rd., so it is not a neighborhood, but we would still like to visit him!  Thanks!”

It’s been a seriously long and cold winter here in Vermont and this week suddenly hit the 60s!

Won’t live without front porch… Media coverage

Posted on Thursday, April 17, 2008 by • No comments yet

People’s use of Front Porch Forum has been making the news recently. You can watch, listen and read the coverage on our media page. And while the national and state-wide attention from PBS.org, Wall Street Journal, Morning Edition VPR, etc. is wonderful, I also love the small local reporting.

For example, today the United Way of Chittenden County covered FPF, as did The Charlotte News, a community newspaper covering a small rural Vermont town. Here’s a quote…

Charlotter Lell Forehand says of the Forum: “I first read an article about Front Porch Forum in a newspaper and thought what a wonderful idea. I think the name ‘Front Porch Forum’ appealed to me as I grew up in a small community where people actually had front porches where we often sat and talked with our neighbors. (My Mom often said that she never wanted a house without a front porch.) Now we live in a world where people seem busier with little time for just ‘sitting and chatting.’ So I see Front Porch Forum as an ingenious idea to use technology as a way to be neighborly and to know more about community needs. This seems especially important in areas like Charlotte where our nearest neighbor may be in sight but maybe not. I have used FPF to seek information about various topics and have found it amazing that someone always responds with either the answer to my question or tells me someone to call who may know the answer. I have ‘met’ people in the community this way and hope that, if someone (or group) in the community has a special need, he or she would turn to FPF as a way to communicate that need. What a great way to build community spirit… kudos to those responsible for its initiation and those who keep it going.”

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Please vote for us! And help spread the word… one vote per email address. Polls close April 22, 2008.

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FPF Members: “Not on my watch”

Posted on Tuesday, April 15, 2008 by • 1 comment

As far as jobs, I’m the luckiest guy I know. I moderate Front Porch Forum‘s neighborhood discussions across greater Burlington, VT. And while there’s plenty of ho hum “car for sale” postings, not a week goes by without witnessing an inspirational act… usually small, but each one packs a wallop for me.

Our world is a huge place and full of terrible injustice and tragedy. If you’re paying attention at all, you’ve got to take notice of the victims of war, famine, poverty, accidents, crime, discrimination, disease, injury, natural disaster, environmental decay, and on and on.

I think many of us, somewhere deep down, acknowledge this grim set of facts. Perhaps the morning newspaper cracks open that door and we peek in, but I don’t know many folks who can keep this view of our reality in focus all day. It seems that many of us pull that door shut and try to live a good and respectful life, and to give when and where we can.

So it’s a special privilege to bear witness to everyday folk stepping forward to say… “no, I’m not going to let this particular piece of bad news slide by.” We’ve seen people use Front Porch Forum to rally around neighbors who’s house burned, who’s matriarch was facing terminal cancer, who’s child required expensive life-saving surgery, who’s home needed upkeep when the husband died, and more. This week we’re seeing people step up to help reunite a family torn apart by war.

And I believe that the impulse that sets a person in motion to help in some major life-saving way is essentially the same one that pushes the long-time resident to reach out to the new neighbor with a welcoming plate of cookies, and the parent of small children to shovel out an elderly neighbor after each snowfall, and volunteers removing graffiti and brightening their local park. People want to make a difference, but the task has to seem (1) important and (2) doable.

It’s all about recognizing that while most of us are nearly powerless to individually stop war or end poverty, everyone can make a difference on their block. And that’s where Front Porch Forum is lucky to live.

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Please vote for us! And help spread the word… one vote per email address. Polls close April 22, 2008.

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Help Family Reunite

Posted on Monday, April 14, 2008 by • 1 comment

Given recent postings about pet-owner reunions, I couldn’t let this potential human reunion situation go by unremarked. We’re thrilled when Front Porch Forum shines a light on important events and the simple good works of neighbors! Thank you Therese and God speed Abraham.

Dear Neighbors – This is an appeal to help re-unite a family. I am helping to raise money for a co-worker at the hospital where I work. His name is Abraham Nhail and he lives in the Old North End. The money raised will be used to bring his wife and daughter to the United States so they can all live together. Abraham works as a transportation worker (orderly) at Fletcher Allen Healthcare. He has lived an amazing life and I’ve heard his story in bits and pieces over time. I’ll give you the condensed version.

Abraham is one of the Lost Boys from Sudan. When he was six or seven the village he lived in was attacked in the middle of the night. The people who were not able to run were all killed. He could not find his parents and was separated from his family. Abraham walked with other survivors all the way to Ethiopia, ending up in a refugee camp, alone, and fearing his parents were dead. When he was nine years old he returned to Sudan hoping to find his parents. He was unable to locate them or find out if they were dead or alive. The government was taking boys who had no parents and he was trained and put into the army at nine years of age. In 1992 he fled on foot to Kenya with other young boys and lived in refugee camps. He tried to learn all he could and survived on his own.

In 1998 he was brought to the US and given the opportunity to start a new life here in Vermont. He worked at the hospital full time and started attending school. He received his high school diploma in 2005. Meanwhile, on trips back to Africa (still searching for his parents) he married a woman named Joyce who was from his village in Sudan and they had a daughter, Anyier. Joyce and Anyier live in Kenya in an area that has daily violence and instability. Abraham has been trying desperately to save money to bring them here. Beyond the financial difficulty, there is a mountain of paperwork, numerous documents, tests and corrupt beauracracies, etc. to be dealt with.

In 2005 he discovered his parents were alive and he was finally reunited with them in 2007. They currently reside in Sudan. His father has serious health problems and Abe sends money to help his father. He often goes without many things we consider basic, does not own a car, and truly tries in every way possible to save for his family, but has been unable to earn enough money to bring his wife and daughter here.

Jean Mongeon and I are two middle aged women, mothers and grandmothers, who have come to know Abraham. We want to help him bring his wife and daughter here. Why? Because it is the right thing to do!

I frequently work with Abraham, dealing with all sorts of patients. He’s a good guy to work with. The older patients, in particular, are always happy when he’s transported them and will tell me what a great conversation they had. He’s a totally peaceful and positive guy. He’s part of the large group of interesting folks who make the hospital a great place to work. We like Abraham and want to see him reunited with his wife and child.

We’re asking everyone to help us by donating *any amount* of money that you can. No amount is too large or too small. We need to raise a total of $8,000 and will quit once that goal has been reached. Nobody is getting paid, we are volunteering. A trust account is established and was opened with a donation of $5.40 from my granddaughter. She said, “I want that little girl to be with her Poppa so I’m giving this money from my piggy bank.”

Checks can be made out to: *Abraham Nhail Escrow Account. * They can be mailed to Therese Giles, PO Box 1684, Burlington, VT 05402-1684. If you want to give cash you can e-mail and I’ll tell you when I’m home. Any help is appreciated and we both feel confident that if you do the right thing the help will come. Thanks so much for taking the time to read this and for any donation that you might care to make. Also, please feel free to forward this to anyone else you think might want to help. Thanks again!

Sincerely, Therese Cheryl Giles, RN

UDPATE:  Just heard from Therese that she’s gotten dozens of small donations, totaling about $1,400… a great start, and a long way to go.

FPF posts “Good News” Stories rejected by Media

Posted on Monday, April 14, 2008 by • No comments yet

It seems that traditional media gets knocked every so often for just reporting “bad” news… crime, war, fatal accidents, political fights, etc. I seem to recall hearing that “good” news isn’t, in fact, “news.” I think another take on this is that each “good” news story tends to be interesting only to a small group of people.

“Teen works on Eagle Scout project” is not front page news for a city, but it is something worth knowing for that boy, his family and friends, his neighbors, and those among us who enjoy hearing of such things.

Front Porch Forum is used daily as a conveyor of good news (among other uses). So, instead of all these wonderful little gems floating by unseen, now many happy tales are shared among nearby neighbors… typically not earth shattering, but reaffirming nonetheless. Here’s one that just arrived from Kim in a corner of Burlington’s Old North End…

“i want to thank Front Porch Forum for my new tuxedo kitty, gypsy. i saw an email on FPF from the lovely woman who took in a stray ‘waif’ kitty, seeking someone to adopt her. i am the new proud mama to sweet little gypsy & we’ve already started dancing together. thanks, FPF folks and fabulous ONE neighbors. happiness avails.”

Happy reunion

Posted on Saturday, April 12, 2008 by • No comments yet

Spring comes and cats roam, I guess. Front Porch Forum has seen a surge in “lost kitty” postings. Here’s one from Linnie in Burlington’s Old North End just today…

“Hi All – Thank you for your words of encouragement in finding my cat. The March 31st FPF post that was by Renee was about my cat. Before you judge though he was let out that day and picked up by Renee that day. She was just a cat lover and was worried. He ended up going to Addison county Humane Society. We picked him up and he was very happy to see us. He has a collar now and still likes to go outside but has staying close to home only to venture occasionally to Murray or Peru. He weighed in at 10lbs. Thank you to nice neighbors that look out for my cat. To the gentleman who told me to post here when I was posting fliers last Saturday THANK YOU SO MUCH if I didn’t listen I never would have gotten my cat. Thank you 100X over. My kids are so happy. To Addison Humane society thanks for making it so easy to get him. All I had to do is show Vet records and a pic. I love happy endings.”

Please vote for us! And help spread the word… one vote per email address.

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Is there a need for Front Porch Forum?

Posted on Thursday, April 10, 2008 by • No comments yet

Will Front Porch Forum only work in Vermont? Fair question… Vermont is a little different than many other parts of the United States. But I think the answer is yes, because FPF is designed to address a condition pervasive in many areas… the sense of disconnectedness, isolation and lack of community that many people feel about the place they live.

The Make It Your Own Awards illustrate this in various ways, including tuning folks into what FPF is all about. A local FPF member forwarded me the note below from her NYC sister today. The sister had heard about FPF from some third party…

“I thought it sounded a lot like your neighborhood. I certainly voted for Front Porch Forum, and desperately want it for our little block here in NYC. I think we desperately need it. Thanks for getting in on the ground floor to support. If you see him, please tell him to please keep NYC in mind when he goes big time. We really are just a lot of small towns down here!”

Duly noted!

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“Good, honest, respectful communication” among neighbors

Posted on Wednesday, April 2, 2008 by • No comments yet

Andy and Carrie live in the same urban Burlington, VT neighborhood, but they don’t know each other. Carrie posted an item on their neighborhood’s Front Porch Forum and Andy took exception. He sent Carrie a note suggesting that she was out of bounds. Carrie asked me, as moderator, for an opinion. I thought her posting was fine, and she conveyed that back to Andy.

So, is this another story of snarky snipping in Web 2.0-land? Here’s the conclusion just received from Carrie…

“i couldn’t resist forwarding the e-mail [exchange]. it’s from the guy who has an issue with ‘out of neighborhood’ postings. we had some conflict, and now we both feel good about our connection. ALL BECAUSE OF YOUR FORUM! yeah, i know… ‘our’ forum. but you are the inspiration. good, honest, respectful communication is a beautiful thing to experience with neighbors. [emphasis added] thanks, michael.”

“yes, i voted! that’s cool.”

Thanks for sharing Carrie! -Michael

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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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