Category Archives: Stories

Local Government and Front Porch Forum

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

Local officials continue to pick up on the potential value of Front Porch Forum for their work. I had three state reps., a village trustee, and a schoolboard member join their neighborhood forums in the past couple days. Each signed up for the several neighborhood forums covering his/her district.

Still other folks are spreading the word about Front Porch Forum through public channels. A school commissioner running for reelection included a bit about FPF in her campaign literature. Volunteers in Westford, Jericho, Underhill and perhaps Williston plan to set up a table on Town Meeting Day to hand out FPF flyers. Any other volunteers out there for other parts of Chittenden County?

And then the Burlington Free Press reported the following today:

Erik Heikel, 29, is running a write-in campaign to fill [a] vacated seat [on Winooski’s City Council]. Heikel sees himself as part of the new population trend of Winooski — people in their late 20s and early 30s moving into Winooski to find affordable housing for their families. Heikel has been involved with Winooski’s “Front Porch Forum,” a neighborhood Internet site. Heikel said he wants to use the forum to keep younger people involved in city government.

And from K.G. in The Addition Neighborhood Forum in Burlington:

It is amazing to be a part of this forum because you get a glimpse at how our city government operates.

Saying “Thank You” says a Lot

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

We’ve seen a run of “thank you neighbor” messages in various forums. Not only is that a lovely gesture to counter a good deed, but it spreads the good will even farther. I’ve had several Front Porch Forum members (not involved with the good deeds in question) tell me that reading these thank you notes encourages them to act the
Good Samaritan role themselves. Examples:

I want to thank all those who have been so markedly supportive to my kids and me. My house stood burning and the kids and I were surrounded by you my neighbors who enveloped us with love and humor and so so much kindness. When I arrived on the scene my knees were giving out and I could barely stand… Teenagers on the street came to hug me. Parents would show up with such good intentions and humor that calm and possibly a half a smile showed on my face. Hats and gloves and blankets and leggings were placed on my person. I could regroup. The generous gift cards have saved my butt on a couple of levels but more importantly I was able to get the kids some new things at Old Navy which served quite well in the shopping therapy arena. Again a sincere thank you to everyone who has so generously reached out to all of us. -M.K., Five Sisters Neighborhood Forum

And the Valentine’s Day blizzard generated lots of this. First, a senior citizen received help from a neighbor, K.R., when the snow blocked even her attempts to let her dogs outside. She was grateful and posted a thank you and request that the K.R. stop by to receive the pay she felt she owed her. K.R.’s response:

I’m glad to have helped out shoveling your deck and side way. I’m pleased the dogs can go out and get some fresh air. No need to pay. I was happy to do it for you. What are neighbors for? -K.R., The Orchards Neighborhood Forum

Other examples:

I just wanted to send out a thank you to everyone who has been helping with this crazy amount of snow we have. Yesterday when I was attempting to unbury my car from a huge snow drift on the side of College St., numerous people stopped by to help or just to encourage. We’ve also watched from our windows as people rallied together to push cars up the hill or out of stuck driveways. Our neighborhood is coming together during this blizzard and it is wonderful to see 🙂 B.G., Buell Neighborhood Forum

The recent calls for help during and after the snowstorm reminded me of how much we count on our community to come together during times of need. I’m a single mom of a four year old. When we were getting buried last week, I resigned myself to shoveling in 5 minutes spans — going back inside to make sure she was still safely occupied with her dolls. So imagine my surprise and gratitude when I returned outside to see that someone had shoveled half my driveway when I wasn’t looking. And imagine my greater surprise and thanks when a couple of other neighbors joined to help me find my car inside a giant drift and finish the whole shoveling job. So amid the calls for assistance on this forum, I wanted to post public thanks for assistance given to my daughter and me… thank you. You are good neighbors. -C.C., The Addition Neighborhood Forum

So, thanks to all the great thank-you note writers!

Parents get Bus Issue on Agenda

Posted on Wednesday, February 21, 2007 by • 3 comments

Getting kids to high school… now there’s a challenge that will capture lots of families’ attention.

Burlington High School is in the New North End, two to three miles from the South End, but tough to get to for many people. And the school department does not have a fleet of school buses. Families are responsible for getting their kids to school.

Many people would like to use the local transit authority buses, CCTA. However, from the South End the bus will deliver kids tens minute late for the start of the school day… which obviously doesn’t work. The only less popular option is the one before which drops students 45 minutes EARLY… I can’t imagine why that one isn’t loaded to the gills. 😉

So a concerned parent started asking questions. It seems that the bus schedule can’t be changed easily as it ties into a whole web of interwoven lines. And the school can’t easily adjust its timing. So, in the past, that might of been the end of it.

In this case, however, the parent turned to Front Porch Forum. She set up a petition on a free web service asking the school to start classes ten minutes later. She posted a link to her online petition on her neighborhood’s forum. Then, she got creative and asked a number of other parents to do the same on their neighborhood forums.

In a flash, she had 85 signatures in hand when she made the case at the regular school board meeting. And many of the forums were buzzing with follow-up comments from other neighbors. An issue was born.

Today a member of the CCTA board weighed in across several neighborhood forums.  While far from resolved, this longstanding problem moved into the spotlight overnight because one determined parent made effective use of Front Porch Forum.  Who and what issue is next?

Forum Members answer Call to Shovel

Posted on Monday, February 19, 2007 by • 1 comment

Dozens of Front Porch Forum members requested help from their neighbors in the wake of the blizzard… most in need of snow removal. Others posted generous offers to help. We also were glad to help spread the word about Operation Snow Shovel… apparently to good effect:

Thanks so, so much for posting the message about Operation Snow Shovel throughout Burlington. The response was incredible! Can you believe that I’ve heard from 57 people willing to volunteer to shovel? 57! (That’s in addition to the 33 permanent volunteers who shovel for a particular person each time it snows– many of them were recruited through Front Porch Forum, too.) A large percentage of volunteers said they’d heard about the need through their neighborhood forum.

As of right now, every single elderly or disabled person in need of help that contacted OSS has been accommodated. And those I’ve yet to hear from will get help quickly. What a wonderful resource these forums are! Many, many thanks!

Angie Spong
The Center for Community and Neighborhoods

WCAX covered this story on the evening news too.

Fire and Police turn to FPF in Crisis

Posted on Monday, February 19, 2007 by • 1 comment

During the toughest stretch of our recent record-breaking blizzard, local police and fire departments turned to Front Porch Forum. Some examples:

1. Police could not spare the manpower to aid a stranded motorist out on East Ave. Sun was setting, temp was dropping, and snow was accumulating around this older gentleman. We responded by immediately calling about 300 households within a ten-minute walk.

2. In a similar case, a single mom reported that two elderly women on her block were snowed in and incommunicado. No signs of life from the outside… just snow drifted up and over the entryways. We notified about 75 nearby neighbors and asked for immediate help.

3. As the first of dozens of carbon monoxide emergencies showed up in Burlington, the Fire Department realized that snow was drifting over the outside vents of many residential gas-fired appliances causing CO backup and in many cases poisonings. Front Porch Forum broadcast the word the night of the storm and heard back things like…

After reading the message posted about clearing your vents I braved the outside at 11:30 PM and couldn’t even find my vent. I came back with my shovel and after poking around a bit I found it and cleared it… I’m sure I’ll have to do it every hour with the wind but thank you for the reminder!  -ONE West Neighborhood Forum

My Kids and Obama

Posted on Monday, February 19, 2007 by • 2 comments

One benefit of running Front Porch Forum is that I read of happenings, rumors and news from all across the region often before they reach the mainstream media. It’s mostly just fun to be plugged in that way. But occasionally I learn of something that I would have missed otherwise.

For example, back in December 2006, I read about a kick-off meeting for a draft Obama movement in Vermont. I heard Barack Obama speak at the last Democratic National Convention and was impressed. Further, I was one of thousands who tried in vain to hear him speak at the University of Vermont last fall… overflow crowds overwhelmed the facilities that had been set up. I couldn’t even get into the back-up space that had been rigged with sound.

So, it’s still so early and I’m looking at candidates from across the spectrum – this is bound to be a long and interesting election cycle – but he’s definitely offering exciting possibilities.

So, as a proud papa, I’ve got to “out” my kids too. Philip Baruth has an excellent piece on his take on Obama that he filed for VPR (audio, text). Here’s my favorite line:

One couple even brought their three kids, all in their PJs, and the kids crashed around the place and produced the excellent sort of mayhem that kids produce near or just past their bedtimes.

For the record, we had all four of our kids, but our seven-year-old passed on the jammies and wore his school clothes. And, yes, they were crashing around. Thanks again to the accommodating group and cafe proprietors!

Honest Lad saves Day

Posted on Saturday, February 17, 2007 by • No comments yet

Our local blizzard broke some records (which is saying something in Vermont).  I’m not a meteorologist, but I think I’m qualified to say it’s A LOT OF SNOW!

The neighbor-helping-neighbor stories are piling up and people are using their forums more than ever.  In this mostly fun crisis, people turn to their neighbors to offer and request help.  Here’s one sample and I hope to post more soon:

You can imagine how bad I felt when I realized we returned home from the sled hill without our all-weather digital camera. Special pictures, like our daughter trying on wedding dresses, vacation that could never be replaced. I figured it was gone forever. But one posting on Front Porch Forum and it’s back! How lucky we were that an honest young boy was sledding the same day we were. Thanks!  -Jim Barrett, The Addition Neighborhood Forum

Blizzard brings out Good Neighbors

Posted on Wednesday, February 14, 2007 by • No comments yet

Burlington is getting buried by 24 inches of snow in 24 hours… or something like that. And high winds and drifting.

We’ve been battling snow all day, clearing roads, driveways, sidewalks… I’m spent! But inspired too. Nearly every time I went out to take another pass with the shovel I found that some good neighbor had cleared one portion or another of our walk or driveway. Tracks leading away from the good deed were always different and headed off in different directions. We’re living among a band of good Samaritans!

And on the Village Green Neighborhood Forum tonight, a subscriber posted:

If anyone needs help shoveling out from the storm, or if you know of a neighbor who needs help, post to the Forum and hopefully among a number of us on the Forum (three at my house) we can respond to the need.

That’s beautiful… really. Another great use of Front Porch Forum.

Social Capital: Good or Bad?

Posted on Monday, February 12, 2007 by • 2 comments

Thanks to Kevin Harris for writing about : Diverse Communities: The Problem with Social Capital, by Barbara Arneil, published last year. I look forward to reading this book. It seems that the author takes Putnam’s Bowling Alone to task around two points:

1. The “ideal” past of strong community outlined in Bowling Alone is another way of documenting the privilege of the established class/majority. That is, what about minorities?

2. Declining social capital may not be a bad thing.

I accept the first point as reasonable on its face, but the second is harder for me to swallow. Time to read the book, I guess!

Our experience with Front Porch Forum seems to show that many people long for greater connection with those around them and lament the decline of social capital in their lives. Many join one of our neighborhood forums seeking that connection. Our testimonials, media and stories pages are full of small examples.

Rule of Seven?

Posted on Monday, February 12, 2007 by • No comments yet

It never ceases to amaze me how many times people who like the concept need to hear about Front Porch Forum before they actually sign up… probably seven repetitions on average. These are folks who are interested and eligible.

Another person just told me today that he had heard about it for 5-6 months, read about it in the paper, heard from a neighbor, etc… just hadn’t got around to it. A sign on a library bulletin board finally pushed him over the edge, and he went home and registered. Human nature? Herre’s a couple quotes… similar stories:

1. I have been meaning to join for months now… this forum seems to be such a great tool for neighborhood communication. I am anxious to find out about what I’ve been missing! -The Orchards Neighborhood Forum

2. I learned about this this forum some time ago from a flyer hand delivered to my home. After being reminded about this group by one of school commissioners at last Thursday’s NPA meeting, I decided to join. -ONE East Neighborhood Forum

I have friends in the marketing world who confirm that seven is a find of magic number for hammering messages into people. Well, if Front Porch Forum was spreading with conventional marketing then we’d just need to buy enough compelling exposure to reach our target audience’s saturation point… wear ’em down, baby.

But that’s not the path we’re on. We depending solely on word of mouth, and the occasional media coverage. So, a typical neighbor who is excited about this new community-building service will tell the people around him… once! Or, sometimes, not at all… “well, I don’t want to bother the neighbors… they probably saw the same blurb in the newspaper that I did.”

Well, even if they did see it, on average they’ll need to get the message another six times before they sign up! So, to all Front Porch Forum members wondering how to get more neighbors on board… “tell ’em once, tell ’em twice, tell ’em again and keep it nice.” Okay, so that’s my first and last attempt at writing a cheer.

Point is… don’t be shy about telling and reminding friends, neighbors, co-workers, etc. to check it out.  Send them FrontPorchForum.com.

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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