Category Archives: MacArthur Fellows
The sharing economy and FPF in Vermont
Just received this note from an FPF member in central Vermont…
I’m sure you hear this a lot… but not yet from me. I love Front Porch Forum and it’s such a great community-building resource. I use it for the farmers market often to borrow items that I use a couple times a year and don’t need to buy — just borrowed a 100′ tape measure to mark off the farmers market lot for the season.
Thanks so much for starting and operating this incredible resource.
The opposite of community is indifference
Two powerful quotes that speak to building community among neighbors:
The opposite of love is not hate, it’s indifference.
The opposite of art is not ugliness, it’s indifference.
The opposite of faith is not heresy, it’s indifference.
And the opposite of life is not death, it’s indifference.
– Elie Wiesel
Life begets life. Energy creates energy.
– Sarah Bernhardt
Community treasure in Williston
Shared by Nancy on the Williston FPF today…
A few weeks ago I posted an ad for several like-new printer ink cartridges that did not match our new printer. We had no luck finding family or friend who needed the same type of cartridge. Since they were taking up space on the kitchen counter, we advertised them on FPF in exchange for a donation to the Williston Community Food Shelf. Well! A person not only wrote a generous check but also delivered a “matching grant’ form from her employer. As she said, “It’s a win-win for everybody involved.” Front Porch Forum is such a community treasure!
Talking about community in Vermont
Front Porch Forum‘s service has been and will be the topic of several discussions around Vermont, including:
1/06/2014 – Live and Local on WKVT AM in Brattleboro (click to listen)
3/05/2014 – Franklin Grand Isle Community Partnership monthly meeting in St. Albans
3/26/2014 – Business/Marketing Group regular meeting, hosted by Women’s Small Business Program, CVOEO, CEDO and SBA in Burlington
3/29/2014 – ACORN Sustainable Living Expo in Middlebury with VCRD (write up)
4/02/2014 – 69th Annual Town Officers’ Education Conferences in Fairlee with VCRD (write up)
4/09/2014 – 69th Annual Town Officers’ Education Conferences in Burlington with VCRD
4/23/2014 – 69th Annual Town Officers’ Education Conferences in Killington with VCRD
Please contact us if you’re interested in putting Front Porch Forum on the agenda of your upcoming event.
Vermont Town Meeting… Not Her Grandfather’s Tradition
Posted today on the Calais Front Porch Forum by Sharon…
My farming grandfather didn’t go to Town Meeting. His was a north-facing sugarbush, so he sugared late and Town Meeting Day was when he set out the taps. He didn’t go to Town Meeting because he “had” to work that day. Could he have set out the taps on Monday or Wednesday? Of course — but he was set in his ways and didn’t care enough about Town Meeting to shuffle his schedule. Vermont’s small town residents have always had — and still do have — choices about whether to attend Town Meeting, and they made (and make) their choices based on their personal sense of priorities for the day.
I, in contrast to my grandfather, have an employer who expects me to show up for work every day. And with a new job, I don’t have vacation time earned. But I worked it out because it matters to me to do so, and even without a vacation day to use I’ll be there (as I have for most or all Town Meetings in the 10+ years we’ve lived in Calais) voting to keep our Town Meeting alive.
Town Meeting is a tradition in Vermont established by our forefathers. But that’s not a reason to keep it or reject it. We should keep it or not for its relevance to today, the world we want to live in, and the world we want to leave to our children. Gathering together one time per year to decide our town and school budgets, elect local officers, and debate policy both local and beyond is an important part of the richness of our community. It’s one of the things that makes Calais, Vermont special. I’m with Erica. If we have to switch the day let’s do that — or even move it around from year to year to accommodate a variety of schedules — but let’s not be hasty to toss it away. Please join me and vote “no” on Town Articles 11, 12, and 13 and the School District Article 5. Thank you.
Northfield improving town one project at a time
Shared by Leslie on the Northfield Front Porch Forum today…
I just want to celebrate that we are 10 members away from reaching 600 people in town with one newsletter!! That is so fantastic considering that a year and a half ago there were 40 people at a GO! Northfield meeting saying that the one big problem in our town is a way to get out any information. See what can happen when we all get together to improve our beautiful town! This is such a great resource! Let’s use it to improve this town one project at a time!!
And now every community in Vermont has this same opportunity. Go to FrontPorchForum.com to check out what your Vermont neighbors are talking about.
FPF in the news
FPF co-founder Michael Wood-Lewis spoke on the air recently with two very engaging hosts…
• Common Good Vermont on Channel 17 Town Meeting Television
And more and more community newspapers and Vermont organizations’ newsletters and websites are mentioning Front Porch Forum to their readers as a great resource. Here’s a recent example…
Burlington a “most promising tech hub of 2014”
From VTDigger…
Burlington’s burgeoning high-tech culture has put it on a start-up map. The website techie.com, which documents emerging technology trends, named the city one of the country’s 10 most creative up-and-coming hubs in 2014.
The home city to Dealer.com one of Burlington’s most extraordinary success stories with its recent sale for nearly $1 billion also scored 38th on Lumosity’s recent “100 smartest cities” report…
Social media groups like the Front Porch Forum also helped Burlington earn its badge for civic participation. But the combination of online and “in real life” activity is part of what set the city apart.
Winooski neighbors rally to aid of fire-victim family
Vermonters have always helped neighbors whose homes burn. And with Front Porch Forum at their disposal, this response can easily increase 10 or 100 fold.
Here’s an example from this week in Winooski from the Burlington Free Press…
The Winooski School District has raised over $4,000 so far as part of a fundraiser for the victims of an apartment fire that displaced 21 city residents last Thursday night, Superintendant Sean McMannon said. Six students were directly affected and displaced by the Malletts Bay Avenue blaze while two other students had family members who were affected, McMannon said. The Winooski district offices are collecting cash and check donations only, according to McMannon…
McMannon said Wednesday that the fundraiser had begun the day after the fire, and the district has mainly gotten word out through its website, a post on the Front Porch Forum website, and through emails within the school…
Since Thanksgiving, 21 families and 60 people have been displaced from their homes because of fires, according to a newsrelease issued by the Vermont and the New Hampshire Upper Valley Region Red Cross Wednesday. The Red Cross, who assisted in relief efforts for the victims Thursday, said fire is “the disaster most likely to befall someone in our region.”
[C]ity manager Katherine “Deac” Decarreau said Winooski citizens have been “extraordinarily generous.” “The generosity is overwhelming, and from all areas from the community,” Decarreau said. “It’s really heartwarming.”
Donations to victims of the Malletts Bay Avenue apartment fire can be sent to JFK, Main Lobby, Middle School-High School or District or mailing to WSD, 60 Normand Street, Winooski, VT 05404. Checks can be made out to: WSD-MBA Fire Support.
Manchester FPF gets rolling
Vermonters in Manchester are talking about their new Front Porch Forum. Posted today…
From Helen:
I have been a fan of Front Porch Forum since I first heard about it several years ago, when it started in the Burlington area. At the time, I was working for The Orton Family Foundation, and we at the Foundation were developing, testing, and advocating for a wide range of community building tools. FPF was in its early stages, but already winning awards, including one I think from the Foundation.
When I am not at home in Manchester, I spend a lot of time in Lyme, New Hampshire, a community that has its own “listserve” – not technically an FPF, but certainly similar. Daily people are looking for something, selling or giving away something, looking for service, seeking lost pets, finding ride-shares, announcing meetings, inviting people to events, etc, etc. I imagine that FPF in Manchester can and will develop into the same sort of well appreciated and powerful local communication tool. In addition to meeting this sort of individual need, the listserve enables lively discussions on community topics….for example, a current topic in Lyme has to do with whether the community should or should not have a skating surface on the common, the related issues, and who is willing step up to maintain it.
At the moment, I have nothing to sell or give away, nor am I looking for a service, but for sure I will post a note when I need to. I am, however, encouraging my friends to join, and I hope you will too. The more people involved, the more powerful the site will be. For those of you who are looking for something or have something to sell or give away, go ahead and post it to get the ball rolling!
Followed by this posting from Linda:
Your post regarding Front Porch Forum was well said and received. I too was living in the Burlington area when FPF was in its infancy and enjoyed hearing about neighborhood yard sales, items for sale, and other general neighborhood news. To my knowledge, nothing inappropriate ever made it to my desktop and it was easy to communicate back and forth with someone seeking a service or product that I might be able to supply. Looking forward to hearing from others in our neighborhood soon.
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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