Category Archives: Updates and Admin
Hurricane Irene, Town Meeting Day, FPF, and You
#VT – We learned recently that a group of tech students set out in the wake of Hurricane Irene to pitch-in whatever way they could. The first three Vermont towns they came to turned them away when the local folks, understandably, weren’t yet organized enough to take advantage of the offer. Then the students came to Moretown and were put right to work because the lines of communication were humming, and, we’re told, Front Porch Forum was a big part of that.
More than half of Moretown uses FPF now and people make great use of it. Further, FPF is like fertilizer for local networks, helping book clubs, car pools, neighborhood watches and other local groups grow and prosper. These are the connections that make a community strong and resilient.
As Elga Gemst, a Moretown FPF member said in the days after Irene, “we’ve lost half a house but gained a community. Thank you neighbors for your heart-breaking generosity.”
Help neighbors in your town connect BEFORE the next call to action for your community. Recruit new members to your Front Porch Forum on Town Meeting Day. Contact us and we’ll send you flyers, sign-up sheets and other tips. Act today… Town Meeting is in a few days! Also, consider speaking from the floor of your meeting and pointing your neighbors to http://FrontPorchForum.com
FPF is hiring!
#BTV #VT – Front Porch Forum is seeking an experienced sales rep. to join our growing team: http://bit.ly/FPFsalesopening
Argyle, NY welcomes Front Porch Forum!
We’re thrilled to bring Front Porch Forum to Argyle, our first foray into New York state. Thanks to ACET and a number of local folks for making this happen. If you live in Argyle, sign up here!
FPF Community Calendar Now Available for e-Vermont Towns
#VT – Front Porch Forum recently launched an online community calendar available in two dozen of the Vermont towns where we already provide our core service. In addition to visiting the calendar on FPF’s website, folks can also clip the widget and place the FPF community calendar on their own website or blog. Details here.
We’re grateful to our partner on this new feature, e-Vermont.
How many people use FPF in Burlington?
#BTV #VT – More than 9,600 members are active in Front Porch Forum now in Burlington, out of the 16,000 households that comprise the city. In 2011, they shared 26,000 postings with their nearby neighbors via FPF. Amazingly, HALF of FPF members spoke up and contributed to their FPF neighborhood conversations. In one survey, 93% reported feeling “more civically engaged since joining FPF.” About 100 elected and appointed public officials participate too.
FPF is expanding beyond Burlington… we now serve one-third of Vermont. More than 32,000 members participate in rural areas, suburbs, and cities. Imagine this level of engagement in every part of Vermont and beyond! Let us know if you’d like to help bring FPF to your town (just enter your address on our home page and complete the form).
Three cheers for the tens of thousands FPF members in Vermont… and here’s to vibrant neighborhoods in 2012!
12 Words for 2012 FPF Raffle!
#BTV #VT – Enter the 12 Words for 2012 FPF Raffle and win a $100 prize! Enter before noon Jan. 12… just submit a posting to your FPF that contains EXACTLY 12 words and you’ll be in the running for one of these great prizes…
- $100 Gift Certificate to Outdoor Gear Exchange
- $100 Lake Champlain Chocolates Gift Basket
- 12 Pints of Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream for Each of 5 Winners
I’ll post some of the entries here later… see submissions from past years here. Happy posting!
UPDATE: Here are the lucky winners!
$100 Gift Certificate to Outdoor Gear Exchange
Stephen Handley, Bristol FPF
• To work I can not go. Head to Sugarbush – they make snow.
$100 Lake Champlain Chocolates Gift Basket
Diane Fuchs, Essex Junction FPF
• Forget the 2012 diet resolution– volunteer more hours in your community instead!
12 Pints of Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream for Each of 5 Winners
Elga Gemst, Moretown FPF
• 2011: Swimming in kitchen with refrigerator. 2012: Lying on beach with book.
Jo McKay, Jay FPF
• My baby is eating solid foods. Now we need a high chair.
Jen Quavelin, Burlington FPF
• I’m thankful to live in a town where lively public discussions flourish.
Charlotte Comar, Pownal FPF
• No fishermen on Barber’s Pond – Ice too thin… ‘fraid to fall in.
John Craig, Jeffersonville FPF
• With the light always on, Community breaths through the Porch of Vermont.
Wow… we’ve got more than 1,800 entries… read more below!
- Sweat lodge on Decatur, neighbors welcome, nudity required, toasty buns heck yeah!
- Forget the 2012 diet resolution– volunteer more hours in your community instead!
- How to turn a dishwasher into a snowblower? Give her a shovel.
- Spaces between your fingers were created so that another’s could fill them!
- Nasty snow storm coming our way, seat belts on, cell phones away.
- Vermont Strong – Hope for those still struggling from Irene – Peace to All
- Occupy Burlington is still alive and well! Visit www.occupyburlington.org for more info!
- Gadzooks! My mother voted for Gingrich! Why not Huntsman as Obama’s veep?
- You’re a Vermonter if your car trunk doubles as extra freezer space.
- Tomorrow is my Birthday, so I yell “Hooray, I’m almost ten today!”
- Front Porch Forum here to stay put your check in mail today.
- Scanty snow and deep freezes; kill the deer ticks under the leaveses.
- Read Front Porch Forum every day. Hear about local happenings right away!
- Bed and breakfasts? Places to stay? Seeking rooms for the wedding day.
- My baby is eating solid foods. Now we need a high chair.
- Excellent Sony KV24FS120 TV, too large for me, is yours for free.
- Books, movies, magazines, and free wireless Internet all at your local library.
- Oh what fun it is to read Front Porch Forum today, hey!
- Run for local office. Pick up petitions at your local town office
- I have promises to keep; And miles to go before I sleep
- Is there fluoride in our town water? Who can tell me please?
- I spent my childhood praying to have children and they are amazing!
- Twelve words does it take for a twelve word entry to make.
- Brrrr, chilly outside; please keep all pets warm … bring them INSIDE!
- No fishermen on Barber’s Pond – Ice too thin… “˜fraid to fall in.
- find, sell, give, ask, inform; vent, warn, live, your Front Porch Forum
- Words are elusive. Twelve to play the Front Porch game? Embrace Brevity!
- Wanted to borrow: An infrared camera to do my own energy audit.
- Best bumper sticker: ” I am from Vermont, I do what I want!”
- Our rat, Pepper, has died. Free fish tank for your small critter.
- Currently looking for an occasional babysitter for our thirteen month old son.
- Fabulous babysitter, evenings or weekends. EHS sophomore, great with kids. References available.
- Mint repels mice. Store towel soaked in mint oil in glove compartment.
- Several free bunnies looking for a home. Call or email if interested.
- Looking for cheap used mandolin, an instrument to learn on, nothing fancy!
- I’m thankful to live in a town where lively public discussions flourish.
- I love black turkeys on white snow beside a mint green stream.
- two bassets want pals to chase, one dachshund wants to play ball
- Wishes for a peaceful and healthy 2012 to all of my neighbors!
- To work I cannot go. Head to Sugarbush – they make snow.
- This 12 word contest sure is attracting a lot of interesting entries.
- With the light always on, Community breaths through the Porch of Vermont.
- Front Porch Forum My news of the Neighborhood. Well done. Thank you.
- Let’s promise to be kind to one another in the New Year.
- Littered trash beware, South Burlington residents care. You will be evicted, deposed.
- I am seeking help with snow removal; seeking snow first, removal second.
- Used mind for sale; fair condition; sometimes wanders randomly; best reasonable offer.
- I wanted the pygmy goats but I need new goat shed first!
- Get fit by joining snap fitness gym it is local and awesome.
- Twelve words is not enough to say what I want to say.
- My tires don’t inspire buyers. Should price be higher? Plight is dire.
- Conquering dark solitude. We dance grinning, hand in hand, enjoying the band
- Snowshoe! Sled! Skate! Ski! But how? Winter, O Winter, where art thou?
- In our house, a happy quorum: Read/Post/Love “Front Porch Forum”.
- Moving is fun ooowhee! Come one, come all, to see what’s free!
- Finally reached my diet goal. With my luck, I’ll win the chocolates.
- Broadband… please; Teacher contract renewed; Lost animals found; MORE SNOW! Community United.
- Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently!
- Never look down on someone else unless you are helping them up!
- Twelve words that’s it. To challenge our wit. Really a tight fit.
- When it snows, our lawn looks just as nice as the neighbor’s.
- My kids are ice cream and LCC crazy; I must post this.
- Wanted: Random Acts of Kindness. Offer a helping hand to your neighbor.
- The Wolf Full Moon hiding in Middlesex behind the low hazy clouds.
- We have been car free since Labor Day! It’s great. Thanks, CarShare!
- I miss the Alchemist. I love Cork. Looking forward to Prohibition Pig.
- Broken straps, Replaced free. Tubbs snowshoes, Lifetime guarantee. Deep snow, same deal?
- Wanted: atmospheric water vapor frozen into crystals and falling in white flakes
- Town roads. To pave, or not to pave: that is the question.
- Seen today at intersection of Common Way and Greenbush: three legged fox!
- Even if you fall on your face, you are still moving forward.
- Angel Dog is not a family movie. Do not rent for kids.
- This is my first post! I work for Girl Scouts. Wanna volunteer?
- Wanted: atmospheric water vapor frozen into crystals and falling in white flakes.
- Hey all Bristol folks, remember to shop local, close to our homes.
- The snowy owl made it to Vermont, maybe there will be twelve?
- That’s how it is with Fred; people like to eat his bread.
- The sleeping cats hug the heat vents dreaming about the summer sun.
- A little peace on Earth, and big piece of pie for dessert.
- Sometimes I wonder: what would I Do if I couldn’t eat cheese?
How to put FPF to work for your cause in #VT
A friend forwarded an email message today that was sent to dozens of parents whose children attend a local private school. They asked each parent to share the recruitment message with hundreds of neighbors via FPF, kind of like an old-fashion phone tree…
It would be enormously helpful if you would post this announcement to your neighborhood Front Porch Forum — to date, FPF has been the BEST source of prospective families, so it really does make a difference.
We see this all the time from dozens of area nonprofits, political campaigns, small businesses, and various groups. Give it a try to help your cause/event/organization/etc. spread the word to tens of thousands of Vermonters! If your supporters aren’t yet on FPF, send them to FrontPorchForum.com to sign up.
Of course, you’re also welcome to purchase highly effective FPF ad space.
Have you heard?
From #VT State Rep. Tom Stevens today…
Have You Signed up for FPF?
Hey Waterbury and Duxbury recipients: Have you found your way to Front Porch Forum yet? Huntington has been using this service for some time now, and it is a real treat to have it finally come to Waterbury and Duxbury. Since the service was turned on in early November, over 200 of your neighbors have joined.
FPF is an excellent way to stay in touch with your neighbors, sell something gathering dust in your garage, find a babysitter, and ask for a hand post-flood. Check it out… FrontPorchForum.com
We’ve also recently expanded to Cabot, East Montpelier and Stowe. Click here for a map and list of Vermont towns served by FPF.
Cabot Welcomes Front Porch Forum to Town
#VT ““ Starting Dec. 1, 2011, Front Porch Forum will be available in Cabot, Vermont. Thanks to an impressive group of local volunteers and the UDAG Committee for making this happen!
Now comes the fun part… Please spread the word and encourage any and all in Cabot to sign up at FrontPorchForum.com
FPF is available in 70 Vermont communities. Here’s the list of towns.
Waterbury and Duxbury join Front Porch Forum
#VT – Exciting news! Front Porch Forum is now available in Waterbury and Duxbury, Vermont. Already 100 neighbors have signed up in Waterbury and another 50 in Duxbury!
Given the twin blows of Hurricane Irene and the State Office Complex pull-out, we’ve been working hard with a number of partners to find a way to start serving these communities. A special thanks to Ben & Jerry’s Foundation, Revitalizing Waterbury, Town of Duxbury, Ben & Jerry’s Homemade, and a number of individuals for getting it done.
Now comes the fun part! Please spread the word and encourage any and all in Waterbury and Duxbury to sign up at FrontPorchForum.com
FPF is now available in 70 Vermont towns. Here’s the list of towns.
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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