Category Archives: Community Building
Richmond lost and found
“About six weeks ago I lost my watch while riding my bike between the Village and my home, via the Johnnie Brook Trail. I retraced my path, but didn’t find it ““ it was probably already under the snow. Last week the Town Clerk posted on Front Porch Forum that a watch had been found on a trail – it was my watch! Two brothers riding the trail had found the watch and took it to the Town Offices. What great neighbors, what a great town, and Front Porch Forum is such a great resource!”
• Ian, Richmond FPF
Windsor Front Porch Forum taking off!
“Front Porch Forum is a wonderful resource for community involvement! The more members there are, the better it gets. Tell your friends about it and ask them to join!”
• Thomas, Windsor FPF
It’s wonderful to see what a difference one motivated volunteer can make. Thomas started spreading the word in his town recently, and lots of neighbors are responding. Do the same in your area. Here are some ideas and resources that have worked elsewhere.
Effective online tools are the ones that keep people engaged
“A successful first experience using Fix My Street is associated with a 57 percent increase in the probability of an individual submitting a second report, and the experience of bureaucratic responsiveness to the first report submitted has predictive power over all future report submissions.”
This jibes with what we observe with Front Porch Forum. People stick with it because, simply, it works. They post a request, question, call for support, etc., and they get results. So they keep participating.
Vermonters, Town Meeting Day and Front Porch Forum
“I believe that access to the financial records of our presidential candidates will help voters decide whether the candidate has a conflict of interest. When I arrived at this realization, it was too late to add this idea to the Town’s warned articles. I am using Front Porch Forum to give my neighbors advance notice of a motion that I hope will be discussed and passed at Town Meeting during the new or other business portion. The motion highlights the efforts already underway in our State Legislature (H. 243 and S. 77) and in the U.S. Congress (S. 26). Here is the proposed motion:
“‘The citizens of Jericho, Vermont support the efforts of our state and federal legislators regarding proposed laws that require the disclosure of federal tax returns before a presidential candidate’s name can be place on the primary and general election ballots and, upon passage, we request that our town employees and/or officials convey the vote to the appropriate persons in our state and federal legislative bodies.'”
• Bill, Jericho FPF
Town Meeting Day is March 7 this year (statewide… actual meeting dates vary by town)… how are you using your local FPF?
Two lost Golden Retrievers found
“The boys are back, one showed up and the other was found and kept safe by a nice couple. I’m so grateful for this sweet nook in the world… such amazing people who really know how to come together and support each other. Thank you to all who helped spread the word and bring my boy back! Much love.”
• Meg, Underhill Front Porch Forum
Do your neighbors know how to come together and support each other? Practice makes perfect. Organize a block party, multi-home yard sale, or a winter potluck. Or use your local FPF to convene a group to work on a community project of your choosing. Towns and neighborhoods with rich social connections from this kind of activity tend to be better places to live and are more resilient when hard times arrive.
Kids today… Waterbury young folks not afraid of a little hard work
“To all, I found help moving the boxes. To those who responded, thank you very much. I can’t believe the number of offers!!! Apparently, there are still many folks, especially the young and healthy, who are willing to help out a neighbor, do a bit of manual labor and make a few bucks. This is very refreshing as ‘we’ often hear that the ‘kids’ just want to play with their electronics and not work as most of us ‘Baby Boomers’ did in our youth. Kudos to all of the young folks who responded and especially their parents who have taught them that a little hard work is good for them.”
• Thomas, Waterbury Front Porch Forum
“What did we ever do without this great site??!!”
“A number of folks heard that Beautyrest mattress calling their names, and we thank them for their interest. The first person who responded will be snoozing on that freebie… and her response came within a couple of hours of our posting the notice! We’re so thankful to the founders and staff of Front Porch Forum for helping us connect with our neighbors! What did we ever do without this great site??!!”
• Linda, Middletown Springs FPF
South Albany horse wanders from home
“Found in South Albany on Hartwell Pond Rd… a young riding horse with halter. Call Stephanie and describe halter color.”
• Stephanie, Craftsbury FPF
“Young horse found his owner the same day! So glad for Front Porch Forum!!”
• Stephanie, Craftsbury FPF
Bill McKibben and neighbors helping neighbors
“Thanks for posting the link to the Bill McKibben article. It reminds us of the real purpose of Front Porch Forum… to act like neighbors. Neighbors helping neighbors… red, blue or green. The article inspired me to sign up as a supporting member.”
• Megan, Pownal FPF
Missing Cocker Spaniel in Stowe… Found
“Our dog went missing a couple of hours ago. She is a black cocker spaniel, about 30lbs and is named Game. She wears a red collar and an invisible fence collar (battery must have run out); our number may be written on her collar (lost her tag a few weeks ago). She is very friendly and has a lot of energy. We live on Sinclair Drive in the Stowe club highlands so I would think she would be in that area. If anyone happens to see her or has her at their house please call. Thanks so much.”
• Joya, Stowe Front Porch Forum
“We found our dog so quickly thanks to this wonderful, tight-knit community that we live in. Thank you to everyone for your tips and concern 🙂“
• Joya, Stowe Front Porch Forum, next day
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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