“Dear friends – A few days ago, I posted on our 
“We serve humanity through our involvement in community service projects such as volunteering at the Heavenly Food Pantry, co-sponsoring the senior holiday luncheon, bell ringing for the Salvation Army, and serving the community service dinner for Essex High School students.
“Essex Rotarians also serve humanity by volunteering at Club fundraisers, with proceeds supporting our various charitable endeavors, such as scholarships for area students; youth exchange programs; literacy projects; a variety of local, national and international assistance projects; and the Rotary Foundation. Our club strongly supports the End Polio Now campaign, and we hope that 2016 will see the last case of naturally occurring wild poliovirus.
“Please think about joining us. Together, we can make a big difference.“
• Jim, Westford Front Porch Forum
“On behalf of Newport Elks Club#2155. I would like to thank 
“Thank you to the dozen or so neighbors who emailed personal notes of appreciation for my post on last week’s Really Big Thing that happened.
“In our small town of approximately 350 homes, we have identified more than 140 people who have volunteered on at least one local committee. Many individuals serve on multiple committees. It simply astounds us that there is that much commitment to our small community! Please stop by our “Thank You Breakfast” 
“Hello: I have an old Scrabble set with wooden ties that I like to use. I’ve lost a “C”! It makes playing a little bit unsatisfactory. Does anyone have an incomplete Scrabble with wooden tiles that they’d be able to give me a “C” from???? Thank you.”
“Good deeds are often overlooked. Yesterday, while working at the polls, a mother came in with her three or four children with bags and bags of food for the food shelf. They filled up two blue boxes, and, when asked why so much, the reply was that it was a birthday party that gave food instead of presents. My thought was that it must have been one of the older kids who would understand what they were giving up. When asked whose birthday it was, it was the youngest one with a big smile pointing to herself.”
“Buffy, the 4-month-old cat, came home safe last night after a 36 hour adventure… After visiting his old haunts where he lived as an autonomous outdoor cat for his first 3 months, he seems to have decided that being a house cat is not such a bad gig after all… Thanks to 
I know this election has shaken up a lot of people on both sides of the debate. One thing I see happening more than anything else is an inability for people to communicate and have empathy towards those with different views. It is sad, though luckily for us in Vermont it isn’t nearly as bad as some other places in this country.