Category Archives: Stories

Thousands of Front Porch Forum Members Honored Tonight!

Posted on Tuesday, March 27, 2007 by • 1 comment

Ain’t that a pip! Preservation Burlington honored Front Porch Forum tonight at its annual meeting with its 2007 Ray O’Connor Community Improvement Award. Although I got to be the person up front receiving the plaque and certificate, this recognition really goes out to the more than 4,000 people who have signed up and put their neighborhood forums to work. It’s a beautiful thing to watch it all unfold.

So… thanks to Preservation Burlington and congratulations to all the members of Front Porch Forum! What’s next?!?!

House finds Buyers through Forum

Posted on Monday, March 26, 2007 by • No comments yet

People report remarkable and routine successes from their Front Porch Forum postings. I find the one just received below to be amazing considering how much the real estate market has slowed locally (e.g., the lovely home next door to ours has been on the market for about a year).

I sent a brief email to our Forum to let folks know our house was for sale. Within a few days, I had 9 responses, 4 people who came to look at it, and 2 people ready to make an offer. What a great way to target folks with an interest in our neighborhood. And what a relief to have the daunting marketing of our home made so easy. Thanks! -C.H., ONE Central Neighborhood Forum

Corner Store gets Neighbors’ Attention

Posted on Saturday, March 24, 2007 by • No comments yet

Interesting the ways folks are finding to use their neighborhood forums. A recent example covered by Seven Days reporter Suzanne Podhaizer:

The Springflower Market on St. Paul Street in Burlington is up for sale. But, rather than letting real-estate supply and demand determine its next incarnation, residents of the neighborhood want to weigh in. After a rousing discussion on the online network Front Porch Forum, Joey Corcoran of South Winooski Avenue offered to host a meet-up at her house.

A dozen people showed up, including Gregory Clairmont, the realtor who is representing the property, Democratic City Councilor Andy Montroll and Emily and Chris Conn, who live right across the street from Springflower. The Conns dream about opening their own caf© and market. Although they don’t have the money to buy the place outright, they hope to find an investor willing to put up the capital. The couple came to the meeting with business plan in hand.

Check out the full article here.

The Social Network that stops Traffic!

Posted on Friday, March 23, 2007 by • No comments yet

I’ve poked around various social networking sites and some impress with a feeling of community among distant strangers, others with sheer size or whiz-bang technology. But I’ve never seen anything that elicits the reaction that we’re seeing to Front Porch Forum in the neighborhoods where it’s really caught on in this corner of Vermont.

The other day as a I walked along the sidewalk in downtown Burlington, a woman drove past and did a double take. Break lights… she jumped out and ran over to give me a hug… “you’re the forum guy, right?!?!” Her car door hung open and the guy in the Audi behind her started fuming. Her house had burned the week before and her neighbors had rallied around her and her kids through Front Porch Forum. We kept it short and traffic resumed.

Not the first time we’ve seen neighbors pulling together to help one of their own, nor the first public tears of appreciation I’ve witnessed. People are genuinely moved when they connect with the people who live around them… when a degree of isolation is broken through.

And today from a different person we heard:

Front Porch Forum has connected us to our neighbors and the community quickly and profoundly. We’ve been in Burlington only nine months but because of the forum we feel that we know our neighbors, even if we haven’t actually met all of them. And when we have questions or information to share, it’s an easy, friendly way to get answers or help and share what we know with other people. Our experience of Burlington is so intimately tied up with Front Porch Forum at this point that they go together in our minds. Burlington = Front Porch Forum = community = connection = Burlington. L.D., Five Sisters Neighborhood Forum

Seniors know how to do community

Posted on Thursday, March 22, 2007 by • No comments yet

Today’s senior citizens know about great community because so many of them experienced it in past decades. Now, in their 60s, 70s, 80s and beyond, a collective call seems to be rising from this chorus of elders… “we need to connect with and support each other!”

At least that’s the message I’m getting through a series of conversations I’m having with senior citizens and various support organizations. Today I was honored to speak at the Charlotte Senior Center and Front Porch Forum received a wonderful welcome. Said one lovely attendee:

What you are doing is very special – like the honest-to-goodness connections I remember from “the olden days” – the 50’s and 60’s in Shelburne – that somehow we let “life” take away. Thanks for answering the yearning of so many and for updating it in such an inventive and warm way.

She also expressed frustration when “they” assume that she doesn’t “do email.” She’s all over it. I was surprised when we got our first octogenarian Front Porch Forum member, but now we enough 80-year-olds that it no longer grabs my attention. We also get adult children of people that age signing up on behalf of mom or dad and acting as a bridge to their neighbors through Front Porch Forum… another subscriber innovation that we didn’t anticipate!
I’ve written here already of relevant FPF stories… e.g., snow 1 and 2 and cancer 1 and 2.

And here’s news of another model from Boston (courtesy of MyDecide blog):

Beacon Hill Village helps persons age 50 and older who live on Beacon Hill and in its adjacent neighborhoods enjoy safer, healthier and more independent lives in their own homes–well connected to a familiar and attentive community. Faced with the prospect of leaving the neighborhood they love in order to obtain the services of a retirement community, a group of long-time Beacon Hill residents decided to create a better alternative. Beacon Hill Village is designed to make remaining at home a safe, comfortable and cost-effective solution.

Neighbor loves her Forum

Posted on Thursday, March 15, 2007 by • No comments yet

People say the most lovely things about Front Porch Forum!  Thanks to all who have sent in messages… your kind words keep us motivated.  Here’s a note received today from C.C., a member of the Addition Neighborhood Forum in Burlington’s South End.

Because I don’t want to miss any editions of this forum, which I enjoy so much… I wanted to confirm that you have my new email address. So just checking that all is well. Thanks!!

By the way, our forum has helped me find childcare and porch builders, provided a conduit for contacting my city councilor about traffic safety and the police to express a concern. It’s also offered me a regular opportunity to appreciate how many cool things are going on in our community, and — most important! — provided me with a deeper sense of connection with neighbors and friends. Many thanks.

I love her last line… not only is she appreciating the direct results of connections to babysitters and contractors, but the sum of all those messages are adding up to her feeling more a part of a community… her neighborhood.  Hey!  That’s our mission… to help neighbors connect and foster community in the neighborhood.

Lost and Found: Dog and Glasses

Posted on Tuesday, March 13, 2007 by • No comments yet

Front Porch Forum is often used as a lost and found among neighbors… keys, cell phones, cats, hats and gloves. This week it was dogs and glasses.

From The Addition Neighborhood Forum:

Hello Neighbors – Yesterday while walking my dog I took off my dark glasses (prescription bifocals and very new) and put them in my jacket pocket because they were fogged up. Somewhere en route they fell out of my pocket. If you spy them, could you please give me a call? Many thanks.

Three days later… success!

Hello – Thank you to the neighbor who retrieved my glasses and got them back to me. Great neighborhood to live in!

This past week a member of the South Union Neighborhood Forum posted:

A woman who lives [nearby] had someone break into her apartment which resulted in her dog escaping through a window that was left open by the intruder. Please be on the look-out for her very friendly 2 year old dog. The dog is a border collie mix, black/brown/white, wearing a blue collar. If found or seen anywhere, please call her. She is also offering a reward.

At the same time, a member of the adjacent Summit Neighborhood Forum wrote:

Found Dog! I know I have seen this dog in the Summit Street neighborhood with owner but don’t know who you are?! The Dog is a multi-colored Border Collie?! Beautiful Dog and very friendly. Please call me to claim.

Good news… word spread from one neighborhood to the next and the connection was made:

Thank you all for your phone calls. The dog found in the Summit Street area was the dog lost in the So. Union area and safely returned. Dog and Owner are re-united. Thank you all again.

Seems that word spreads from one neighborhood forum to another through various means… this merits further study.

Crazy Idea + Neighborhood Forum = Igloos

Posted on Monday, March 5, 2007 by • 1 comment

Congratulations to the visionaries in the Lakeside neighborhood in Burlington’s South End. They declared an igloo building contest about a week ago, with the judging set for yesterday (Sunday) afternoon. The weather, especially Saturday, was ideal… tons of snow and warm temps… perfect!

A group of neighbors recently formed to look at global climate change decided to hold the contest (“before it’s too late!”). One of their members, Joan Shannon, put Front Porch Forum to good use, spreading the word of the event to the neighborhood with a few keystrokes. Lake Champlain Chocolates supplied prizes! WCAX showed up to interview some of the kids and shoot the igloos:

Thanks to Nik (proud father) on Conger Avenue for a better quality version of this video. Enjoy!

Monthly Sampler: Neighborhood Poker Game

Posted on Wednesday, February 28, 2007 by • No comments yet

So I tried listing a week’s worth of message titles a couple times (here and here), and now a month and nearly 2,000 new messages have slipped by… too many to list. Let’s go with some samples of what Front Porch Forum members wrote in February:

  • Let’s get a neighborhood poker game started in the King Maple area of Burlington.
  • Dog lost in the big box parking lots. Dog found!
  • Did anyone else’s propane price go up nearly 50% last month in Hinesburg?
  • Warm maple-cinnamon buns delivered to your Charlotte home for school fundraiser.
  • New baby coming and hand-me-downs needed in the Five Sisters.
  • Lots of ideas discussed for underutilized corner store space on St. Paul Street.
  • Neighbors stepping up to reclaim ailing pocket park at S. Winooski and St. Paul.
  • Seeking kombucha tea culture… I have no idea what this is.
  • Snowpants needed for Somali Bantu kids sledding this week.
  • Details of emergencies sent to specific neighborhoods from Burlington Fire Department.
  • Discussion about changing Barlow Street to one-way in Winooski.
  • Intervale car break-ins reported and discussed.
  • South End car ransacker nabbed; police ask forum members to reclaim recovered loot.
  • The usual array of housing, cars, furniture, contractor, etc. postings.
  • Free couch, iMac, printers, linens, baby stuff, desk, slip cover, ficus plant, misc. electronics, etc.
  • Lots of discussions about broadband and TV options across the county.
  • Lots of Town Meeting lead-up announcements and opinions.
  • Lots and lots snow-related requests, offers, complaints and thanks.
  • Oh… and there’s always cats. This month’s tip… look under your porch after a blizzard. Several folks found snowed-in kitties eager to get out, get fed and get warm!

Build Igloo for Chocolate… before it’s too late!

Posted on Tuesday, February 27, 2007 by • 1 comment

A group of Lakeside Neighborhood Forum members in Burlington’s South End recently formed the Lakeside Climate Club… or something to that effect. They gather to take a hard look at global climate change and discuss a personal and neighborhood response.

But this group isn’t letting a little cataclysmic manmade disaster get in the way of some fun. Witness their first action… a neighborhood igloo building contest… “before it’s too late!” I love it.

And the kicker, all neighborhood participants (kids and adults) will get a treat from neighboring Lake Champlain Chocolates, with the grand champion carting home something even better from this favorite local sponsor… a chocolate polar bear? Have to wait until Sunday’s judging to see, I guess (March 4 at noon).

And this isn’t the only neighborhood group forming locally to address global climate change. Others in the South Union, Five Sisters, The Addition, and Lakewood Neighborhood Forums have met at least once. Some are using a program called the Low Carbon Diet from the Empowerment Institute.

In fact, my wife just told me that we’re hosting the second meeting of just such a group in our neighborhood this weekend… but, alas, no mention of igloos or chocolate. Gotta work on that.

Anyone in Chittenden County interested in getting something going in his/her neighborhood, it’s simple… post a notice on your neighborhood forum, hold a first meeting/social event, and get rolling. Use the Low Carbon Diet, watch Al Gore’s award-winning movie, or forge your own path.

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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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