Category Archives: Front Porch Forum
Need a lawnmower? Ask your neighbors!
You never know who may respond! Front Porch Forum members often find their neighbors lending a hand.
In need of a household or yard work item? Ask your neighbors on FPF!
Thanks to FPF members for participating in our survey!
Congrats to our survey participant winners, Gina from Bristol and Nikki from Burlington, who each won an iPad from FPF!
This survey, undertaken in late April, saw a huge response from our members… over 15,000 responses to a 22-question 15-minute survey! Thank you to each and everyone of you who participated.
The survey was undertaken when the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation offered a grant to help us study how Vermonters use FPF to build community. From the survey, conducted by an independent third party, we learned that Front Porch Forum is fulfilling its social mission of helping neighbors connect and build community! We look forward to sharing specific results in the near future.
Protecting the bees
Bees are endangered, and FPF members work to educate us on how to keep them healthy so they can do the huge job of pollinating our food crops.
“Only use natural pesticides and fertilizers. Avoid using herbicides or pesticides in the garden. They not only can be toxic to bees but also are best not introduced to children or adults that visit your garden. If you encounter a bee swarm, post on FPF immediately. Local bee keepers can capture and re-home honey bee swarms. Swarms are docile and non-threatening. Just keep respectful distance. They are waiting for their scouts to return with instructions, and will soon be gone.” • Lea in Burlington
“Thanks to Front Porch Forum and one avid pollinator protector, my husband and I were able to catch a honey bee swarm that had settled into the lilac bush in front of the Elementary School. I am happy to say that they have settled into their top bar hive beautifully. We are grateful for this community forum – for without it, the school may have had to destroy this bee swarm, out of concern for the students.” • Gerette in Hyde Park
Local photographer, Dan Higgins, captures Winooski FPF story
Dan hosted a FPF Winooski Photo exhibit for us a number of years ago. We’re delighted to see him at work again highlighting conversations from Front Porch Forum members!
Neighbors help find resources for elderly mom
As parents begin to age, and we take them in to live with us, outfitting a home for their care can be a new challenge. Front Porch Forum members gave LOTS of resources for their neighbor:
Initial posting: “Hi FPF friends, My mother is coming to live with us tomorrow and i am seeking a walker for her. If anyone has one they are no longer using, I would love to hear from you.” • Cyndee in Shelburne
Response one day later: “Many thanks to those who responded to my request for a walker. I want to share what i learned.
1. Chittenden Country Agency on Aging in Essex, same shopping center as Big Lots offers walkers at no charge.
2. Good Samaritan Network loan closet at the Fanny Allen has medical equipment (walkers, canes, crutches) available at no cost
3. There’s a website with free/inexpensive assistive technology stuff of all sorts, which you probably have no idea even exists. It can be a great resource for people to pass on or get stuff to help make life easier for those with disabilities. It’s called: www.getATstuff.com
4. Many other kind people on FPF are willing to loan or pass their medical equipment along :)”
Lending for yard and garden work
In need of a post hole digger, perennials, or a tiller? Front Porch Forum members are ready to help!
“My request for a post-hole digger brought 3 nearly instantaneous responses. In less than 24 hrs I had the job done and the loaner returned. Thank you, neighbors.” • Bob in Burlington
“Thank you to everyone who replied to my request for perennials, the response was overwhelming and my flower beds are going to be so great next year! I love FPF and this community!” • Rose in Middlebury
“I have a small tiling job to do, and am wondering if anyone has any left over thinset from a previous job that I could buy. And I’ve got a perfectly usable utility trailer sitting in my yard that I’d be happy to lend out to anyone needing one.” • Don in Craftsbury
You know you’re in Vermont when.
Two pounds of cheese is found and reported on Front Porch Forum!
“Did you lose your cheese on Friday or Saturday? Found: one 2-lb block of Cabot cheddar on Main Street Saturday morning. Despite adventuring by the side of the road, the packaging looks intact and the cheese looks good. If you can correctly identify whether it was Sharp, Extra Sharp, or Seriously Sharp, I would be happy to reunite it with you.”
• Dana in Montpelier
We see some of the best lost and found stories on FPF!
UPDATE: The owner of the lost cheese was not found… However, it will be shared at the upcoming contra dance for all to share “in a glorious celebration of free neighborly cheese.” #DidYouLoseYourCheese
Speaking together differently in order to live together differently
Front Porch Forum member, Courtney, shared this lovely piece on promoting and effectively participating in conversations that bring people in our communities together, an initiative created by On Being. There is even a PDF you can download to guide you!:
“The Civil Conversations Project seeks to renew common life in a fractured and tender world. We are a conversation-based, virtues-based resource towards hospitable, trustworthy relationship with and across difference. We honor the power of asking better questions, model reframed approaches to entrenched debates, and insist that the ruptures above the radar do not tell the whole story of our time. We aspire to amplify and cross-pollinate the generative new realities that are also being woven, one word and one life at a time.”
Friendship and mentoring over the Revolutionary war
“About three years ago I posted a FPF request asking for someone to help my daughter learn to sew a 17th century Colonial Day outfit from scratch. Much to my surprise, I received a few responses and they were all directing me to the same young woman, who was graduating that spring with a degree in historical sewing (not the official degree title). My daughter and I reached out and what started with an idea turned into 3 years of mentoring, friendship and learning. My daughter got to delve deep into the Revolutionary time period through sewing, attending reenactments and completing historical arts and crafts projects. She has developed, presumably, a life long interest in all things Revolution. If it wasn’t for FPF, my daughter would not have gained a truly important friendship and have learned so much.”
• Cathy in Richmond
Have a passion for a particular interest? Share it on Front Porch Forum and you just might make a new friend or two!
Member love for Front Porch Forum
We regularly receive appreciative notes at Front Porch Forum from our members. It’s especially warming to know that we are having a positive impact on the towns throughout Vermont.
“There really is a sense of community commitment, responsibility, and self-reliance that we’ve never seen any place else when we read FPF. It’s a wonderful on-line communication model for communities that want to effectively keep in touch, and offer something for everyone. We thoroughly enjoy the news and updates from the surrounding communities, as well as updates on the legislative meetings that are open to the public. It is not only engaging to learn about what services are available (enormously helpful!), but the social calendars are fun too.”
• Rona & Richard in Arlington
Are you using your FPF calendar?
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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