Category Archives: Front Porch Forum
FPF’s Posting Flurry Returns!
Participate in Front Porch Forum’s simple contest and you could win a $350 gift certificate!
Now through 1 PM, Friday, Jan. 10, FPF members can enter by submitting a posting on a topic of choice (“desk for sale,” “seeking plumber,” “ode to the cold”… it’s up to you!). Include the contest word “marshmallow” anywhere in the posting and be automatically entered. We’ll draw a winner for a $350 gift certificate to a local business of the winner’s choice this Friday, Jan. 10. That’s it!
So, if you’ve been meaning to post a question, concern, announcement, offer, observation, advice, etc… do it now and you might win!
I mean, what would you do with $350? Buy 5+ gallons of maple syrup? Pay your heating bill? Get a new iPad or snowshoes? Or 12,000 marshmallows (approximately). The options are endless, if you think about it!
Details:
- Any FPF member can enter by submitting a posting that includes the word “marshmallow” to their local FPF before 1 PM on Jan. 10, 2020.
- This “Flurry” aims to encourage actual postings in the spirit of our mission, “to help neighbors connect and build community.” Please curb the impulse to post nonsense messages.
- Limit one entry per day per member account.
- The winner of the drawing will receive a $350 gift certificate to a local business of their choice.
To submit your posting log into (or create) your account on the FPF website, OR via FPF’s new mobile app ““ available from the Apple® and Google Play® app stores. Go to “Compose Posting,” enter your message, and then “Submit Posting.”
A Pet Owner’s Best Friend
Every Front Porch Forum member knows that lost and found pet postings are common on their neighborhood forums, most often including notes of gratitude and tales of happy reunions. See this great note shared by Emily T. on the Craftsbury FPF after she spotted a beagle on the loose:
“EVERYONE — Please take advantage of Front Porch Forum if your dog runs off this winter. We are lucky to have this resource and it has become a pet owner’s best friend. It gets SO COLD this time of year and no one wants to think of a beloved pet having to spend the night away from home. Please post and let your neighbors help you find your pup! (or kitty, or rooster as the case may be).”
If you’ve lost a pet or spotted someone else’s, be sure to check your neighborhood forum and post about it!
Town officials in New York learn about FPF
“Talk of the Towns & Topics,” a publication for the Association of Towns of the State of New York, shared news of Front Porch Forum‘s expansion to parts of upstate New York.
FPF has served Vermont towns since 2006, and people use FPF for all sorts of things. This brief daily connection helps neighbors become better informed and more involved in the life of their towns.
“Technology can be used to divide us or bring us together. I really admire the way Front Porch Forum uses the Internet to bring us together. It’s not formulated to keep you in front of your screen. FPF urges you to read the local postings and then get going, and go out and be with your neighbors. That is really important and constructive in terms of building community and building democracy.” • Susan Clark, a Vermont town moderator
“I really love your service and its natural connection to local governments” • Libby with the Assoc. of Towns of the State of New York
Random acts of kindness while shopping in VT
The holiday spirit is year-round amongst our Front Porch Forum neighbors!
“Imagine my happy surprise when I came to the register to pay for lunch for my two kiddos and their two kiddo friends … and someone had already paid for it all! It was so appreciated and so genuinely delightful, I have been smiling about it all day. Thank you, sweet neighbor — whoever you are! Not only did we get to enjoy those delicious bagels, but you also gave those four kids and me such a great opportunity to talk about kindness and generosity. It was a real gift-that-keeps-giving kind of scenario. I’m already scheming ways to pay it forward.” • Emily in Burlington
“To the woman who bought my groceries at Shaws that Tuesday night: You would not tell me your name. You made my month, literally. Thank you so much for your kindness.” • Lisette in Montpelier
“To the person who put a sunflower on my bicycle outside Healthy Living Monday, My Thanks! You totally made my day when I came out from supper at the cafe! Tucked it in my brake cable on the frame & it made it home in good shape & now is in a tall thin vase by my computer screen! I love it! Thank you, thank you for that random act of kindness!!” • Kathleen in South Burlington
Is FPF lost in your inbox? Try our NEW Mobile App!
Exciting news you can now use FPF’s new mobile app to connect with your neighbors. The app makes it easy and quick to keep up on community goings-on, post to your neighbors, and more.
- Stay logged in – no more trying to remember your password
- Easy to view multiple days, see neighboring forums, and search past postings
- Post to your FPF on the go
- Get notified the moment a new issue is available – be first in line for that free toboggan!
Download FPF’s new mobile app from the Apple® and Google Play® app stores today.
P.S. Of course, you’re still welcome to access your local FPF via email or our website too!
Neighborly connections through FPF
Those new to a community often turn to Front Porch Forum to find connections. What they find are wonderful neighbors!
“I just moved to the neighborhood a few weeks ago! I am wondering if anyone is crafty or interested in crafts. I am hoping to have craft nights with others and maybe share techniques, catalogues, favorite tool, etc. Please be in touch if you would like to get together and talk crafts.” • Kelley in Essex Junction
“Hi FPF community, You all are the reason we chose to settle here and raise our family! The support you have shown after the loss of one third of my laying hens to a couple of domestic dogs, has truly been humbling. I thank you all for your kind words, your offers of help, suggestions & empathy. What a tremendous community, with wonderful neighbors, we all live in!!” • Deborah & Tim in East Hardwick
The unfiltered story of FPF on “Start Here”
Front Porch Forum co-founder, Michael Wood-Lewis, was recently interviewed on the Vermont Centers for Emerging Technologies (VCET), “Start Here” podcast, which shares the stories of active, aspiring and accidental entrepreneurs.
“Featuring Vermont’s most influential business leaders, Start Here bridges the gap between entertainment and inspiration by presenting the unfiltered stories of today’s top innovators. Everybody starts somewhere – why not Start Here?”
Click below and have a listen!
Paying it forward
The Holiday Season is fast approaching, but on Front Porch Forum we see neighbors paying it forward year-round. See this very generous posting from a Montpelier neighbor looking to pass on the goodwill in her life:
“Hi neighbors! I’ve just been to Costco for the first time since moving to Central Vermont a couple of years ago, and am super happy with the nutritious and relatively inexpensive food I was able to purchase!
As I’ve been experiencing some stressful food, fuel, and housing insecurity this past year, I’ve been incredibly grateful to local friends and organizations who have generously helped me fill up a tank of gas so I could get to work, share some of their shelf-stable food so I wouldn’t go hungry, and more!
I’d like to pay it forward please let me know if any or all of the following (fresh, refrigerated) would be helpful to you, and when and where I could bring it to you…”
Get inspired to connect with your neighbors and you might find surprising ways to support one another!
A mistakenly taken lawn mower
Frequently neighbors post on Front Porch Forum offering free items. What happens when the wrong item is taken?
“I am hoping this is a misunderstanding, but I posted a listing on FPF advertising free lawn mowers to give away. Several folks contacted me and one gentleman came and picked up 2 while I was here (those mowers are NOT in question). However, 2 mowers were taken that WERE NOT available to take because they are our running mowers. I am asking that if you took them thinking they were free, contact me and return them, no questions asked.”
Shortly after this post, a neighbor responds!
“The mowers were returned and my faith in my neighbors has been confirmed!! Thank you to the person that returned them and, again, I am sorry for the confusion!!! Thank God for good people and Front Porch Forum!!!“ • Bill in Hyde Park
Did your Little Bo Peep lose a sweet stuffed sheep?
In response to this query on FPF:
“We know we live in a very special community. Reading the notice about finding a child’s stuffed toy affirmed this belief. I remember driving hours to retrieve a forgotten animal at Grandma’s house. How could our son possibly sleep without it? Thank you, Penelope. You have made a real effort to reunite these two friends and warmed my heart.” • Joan in Craftsbury
“Wow, there is nothing like living in a community of wonderful, caring folks. We are thankful for the return of our husky Braveheart and for everyone who kept a lookout and reached out to us. Much gratitude and love : )” • Marilyn in Fayston
“Drone found! Thanks Front Porch Forum and to Stacy, who found it. We are most grateful.” • Torrey in Bristol
You never know what your neighbors might find on FPF!
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
- Peer Rental
- Localization
- Big Tech
- Events
- PDF2007
- Web Traffic
- Google AdSense
- Pay It Forward
- Elections
- berkmansunlight
- Maps
- Video
- Upstate New York
- Coupons
- Wildlife
- Mobile
- Viral Marketing
- Raffle
- Donations
- Crisis Response
- Lost & Found
- Real Estate
- College Students
- Gratitude
- Social Responsibility
- Orton Family Foundation
- Start ups
- Make It Your Own Awards
- Online Civility
- Clay Shirky
- Newspapers
- Humor
- How To Use FPF
- Online Classified Ads
- Peer Reviews
- Politics
- Community Management
- Best of FPF
- 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