As far as jobs, I’m the luckiest guy I know. I moderate Front Porch Forum‘s neighborhood discussions across greater Burlington, VT. And while there’s plenty of ho hum “car for sale” postings, not a week goes by without witnessing an inspirational act… usually small, but each one packs a wallop for me.
Our world is a huge place and full of terrible injustice and tragedy. If you’re paying attention at all, you’ve got to take notice of the victims of war, famine, poverty, accidents, crime, discrimination, disease, injury, natural disaster, environmental decay, and on and on.
I think many of us, somewhere deep down, acknowledge this grim set of facts. Perhaps the morning newspaper cracks open that door and we peek in, but I don’t know many folks who can keep this view of our reality in focus all day. It seems that many of us pull that door shut and try to live a good and respectful life, and to give when and where we can.
So it’s a special privilege to bear witness to everyday folk stepping forward to say… “no, I’m not going to let this particular piece of bad news slide by.” We’ve seen people use Front Porch Forum to rally around neighbors who’s house burned, who’s matriarch was facing terminal cancer, who’s child required expensive life-saving surgery, who’s home needed upkeep when the husband died, and more. This week we’re seeing people step up to help reunite a family torn apart by war.
And I believe that the impulse that sets a person in motion to help in some major life-saving way is essentially the same one that pushes the long-time resident to reach out to the new neighbor with a welcoming plate of cookies, and the parent of small children to shovel out an elderly neighbor after each snowfall, and volunteers removing graffiti and brightening their local park. People want to make a difference, but the task has to seem (1) important and (2) doable.
It’s all about recognizing that while most of us are nearly powerless to individually stop war or end poverty, everyone can make a difference on their block. And that’s where Front Porch Forum is lucky to live.
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Please vote for us! And help spread the word… one vote per email address. Polls close April 22, 2008.
Given recent postings about pet-owner reunions, I couldn’t let this potential human reunion situation go by unremarked. We’re thrilled when Front Porch Forum shines a light on important events and the simple good works of neighbors! Thank you Therese and God speed Abraham.
Dear Neighbors – This is an appeal to help re-unite a family. I am helping to raise money for a co-worker at the hospital where I work. His name is Abraham Nhail and he lives in the Old North End. The money raised will be used to bring his wife and daughter to the United States so they can all live together. Abraham works as a transportation worker (orderly) at Fletcher Allen Healthcare. He has lived an amazing life and I’ve heard his story in bits and pieces over time. I’ll give you the condensed version.
Abraham is one of the Lost Boys from Sudan. When he was six or seven the village he lived in was attacked in the middle of the night. The people who were not able to run were all killed. He could not find his parents and was separated from his family. Abraham walked with other survivors all the way to Ethiopia, ending up in a refugee camp, alone, and fearing his parents were dead. When he was nine years old he returned to Sudan hoping to find his parents. He was unable to locate them or find out if they were dead or alive. The government was taking boys who had no parents and he was trained and put into the army at nine years of age. In 1992 he fled on foot to Kenya with other young boys and lived in refugee camps. He tried to learn all he could and survived on his own.
In 1998 he was brought to the US and given the opportunity to start a new life here in Vermont. He worked at the hospital full time and started attending school. He received his high school diploma in 2005. Meanwhile, on trips back to Africa (still searching for his parents) he married a woman named Joyce who was from his village in Sudan and they had a daughter, Anyier. Joyce and Anyier live in Kenya in an area that has daily violence and instability. Abraham has been trying desperately to save money to bring them here. Beyond the financial difficulty, there is a mountain of paperwork, numerous documents, tests and corrupt beauracracies, etc. to be dealt with.
In 2005 he discovered his parents were alive and he was finally reunited with them in 2007. They currently reside in Sudan. His father has serious health problems and Abe sends money to help his father. He often goes without many things we consider basic, does not own a car, and truly tries in every way possible to save for his family, but has been unable to earn enough money to bring his wife and daughter here.
Jean Mongeon and I are two middle aged women, mothers and grandmothers, who have come to know Abraham. We want to help him bring his wife and daughter here. Why? Because it is the right thing to do!
I frequently work with Abraham, dealing with all sorts of patients. He’s a good guy to work with. The older patients, in particular, are always happy when he’s transported them and will tell me what a great conversation they had. He’s a totally peaceful and positive guy. He’s part of the large group of interesting folks who make the hospital a great place to work. We like Abraham and want to see him reunited with his wife and child.
We’re asking everyone to help us by donating *any amount* of money that you can. No amount is too large or too small. We need to raise a total of $8,000 and will quit once that goal has been reached. Nobody is getting paid, we are volunteering. A trust account is established and was opened with a donation of $5.40 from my granddaughter. She said, “I want that little girl to be with her Poppa so I’m giving this money from my piggy bank.”
Checks can be made out to: *Abraham Nhail Escrow Account. * They can be mailed to Therese Giles, PO Box 1684, Burlington, VT 05402-1684. If you want to give cash you can e-mail and I’ll tell you when I’m home. Any help is appreciated and we both feel confident that if you do the right thing the help will come. Thanks so much for taking the time to read this and for any donation that you might care to make. Also, please feel free to forward this to anyone else you think might want to help. Thanks again!
Sincerely, Therese Cheryl Giles, RN
UDPATE: Just heard from Therese that she’s gotten dozens of small donations, totaling about $1,400… a great start, and a long way to go.
It seems that traditional media gets knocked every so often for just reporting “bad” news… crime, war, fatal accidents, political fights, etc. I seem to recall hearing that “good” news isn’t, in fact, “news.” I think another take on this is that each “good” news story tends to be interesting only to a small group of people.
“Teen works on Eagle Scout project” is not front page news for a city, but it is something worth knowing for that boy, his family and friends, his neighbors, and those among us who enjoy hearing of such things.
Front Porch Forum is used daily as a conveyor of good news (among other uses). So, instead of all these wonderful little gems floating by unseen, now many happy tales are shared among nearby neighbors… typically not earth shattering, but reaffirming nonetheless. Here’s one that just arrived from Kim in a corner of Burlington’s Old North End…
“i want to thank Front Porch Forum for my new tuxedo kitty, gypsy. i saw an email on FPF from the lovely woman who took in a stray ‘waif’ kitty, seeking someone to adopt her. i am the new proud mama to sweet little gypsy & we’ve already started dancing together. thanks, FPF folks and fabulous ONE neighbors. happiness avails.”
Will Front Porch Forum only work in Vermont? Fair question… Vermont is a little different than many other parts of the United States. But I think the answer is yes, because FPF is designed to address a condition pervasive in many areas… the sense of disconnectedness, isolation and lack of community that many people feel about the place they live.
The Make It Your Own Awards illustrate this in various ways, including tuning folks into what FPF is all about. A local FPF member forwarded me the note below from her NYC sister today. The sister had heard about FPF from some third party…
“I thought it sounded a lot like your neighborhood. I certainly voted for Front Porch Forum, and desperately want it for our little block here in NYC. I think we desperately need it. Thanks for getting in on the ground floor to support. If you see him, please tell him to please keep NYC in mind when he goes big time. We really are just a lot of small towns down here!”
Duly noted!
Andy and Carrie live in the same urban Burlington, VT neighborhood, but they don’t know each other. Carrie posted an item on their neighborhood’s Front Porch Forum and Andy took exception. He sent Carrie a note suggesting that she was out of bounds. Carrie asked me, as moderator, for an opinion. I thought her posting was fine, and she conveyed that back to Andy.
So, is this another story of snarky snipping in Web 2.0-land? Here’s the conclusion just received from Carrie…
“i couldn’t resist forwarding the e-mail [exchange]. it’s from the guy who has an issue with ‘out of neighborhood’ postings. we had some conflict, and now we both feel good about our connection. ALL BECAUSE OF YOUR FORUM! yeah, i know… ‘our’ forum. but you are the inspiration. good, honest, respectful communication is a beautiful thing to experience with neighbors. [emphasis added] thanks, michael.”
“yes, i voted! that’s cool.”
Thanks for sharing Carrie! -Michael
Front Porch Forum’s story of helping neighbors connect and build community is showing up in the media recently. Of note, Mark Glaser just published a lengthy piece at MediaShift on PBS.org., starting with…
“We are a society that lives more and more in our technology-induced bubbles. When we go outside, we wear an iPod; we talk on cell phones while driving. In urban areas, we might never meet our neighbors unless there’s a fire or earthquake. But can technology also help bring us together in our physical communities, and help us get to know our neighbors? Front Porch Forum (FPF) is making a valiant effort to do just that”
Hopefully, his readers will cast a vote for us! And help spread the word.
Sometimes it’s the little things that open up communication among neighbors. Here’s a message from Linda and George that was just posted on an until-now-sleepy Essex Junction, VT, neighborhood forum…
“Many thanks to all of our neighbors for helping with the search for our indoor black cat. So many of you called to say you had seen him or would look out for him. Cindy Smith on Villa Drive had been working with us to capture a very scared black cat that keep showing up at her garage looking for food. Today, Monday, she called to tell me that the cat was under the porch across the street. Sure enough, he was. Sassy was gone for 3 long weeks but now he is home: thin, hungry, and dirty, but safe. Again thanks to everyone who was willing to help.”
I’m glad for this family (and the cat!). This is just the kind of success story that leads to more neighbors signing up and putting Front Porch Forum to use.
Please vote for us! And help spread the word… one vote per email address.
At its best, Front Porch Forum simply provides a venue for some pent up community issue to bubble up and get addressed. This may be the case in a part of South Burlington, VT recently where neighbors discussed an opening on the City Council…
“I have been concerned that our neighborhood does not have adequate representation in the City and have considered running for it… This is a huge window of opportunity for someone from our neighborhood to take a leadership position in city government, given the attention this newly conceived plan deserves. You need only 30 signatures, and the deadline is mid-April. Our neighborhood needs to be a voice in the discussions shaping the future of South Burlington.”
Then neighbor Liz weighed in…
“I couldn’t agree more… but am also unable to adequately represent our neighborhood at this time.”
And she laid out some of the issues facing the neighborhood (e.g., airport expansion).
And then, lo and behold, neighbor Meaghan jumps in with both feet…
“Dear Neighbors – Because I feel it is so important for someone from our neighborhood to run, I’ve decided to give it a go. My husband and I have agreed, and I’m grateful to him and to our children for supporting me and moved that they are encouraging me in this effort. They, too, love this city and see this step as an investment in the future. If I succeed and am elected as City Councilor, I plan to use this Front Porch Forum as a means to hear your ideas and to communicate with you. This process can start now. And, if someone else wishes to run, I see this as a positive sign for our neighborhood and our city. So please do.”
Please vote for us! And help spread the word… one vote per email address.
In the excitement around Front Porch Forum‘s selection for the big national Make It Your Own Awards, I neglected to share our new video clip! You can see it below, on YouTube, on the contest site, and on local access TV (schedules below)…
Special thanks to CCTV Channel 17 (Meghan O’Rourke, Sam Mayfield and Lauren-Glenn Davitian) and the dozens of local folks who appear in the clip.
RETN Channel 16 (more times forthcoming)
CCTV Channel 17 (more times forthcoming)
Please vote for us! And help spread the word… one vote per email address.
It’s inspiring to moderate Front Porch Forum in Vermont. Here’s part of Alan S.’s posting to his Burlington neighbors today…
Hello Neighbors – I assume that the rest of you are as ready for flowers and grass as I am. Enough of this cold and dreariness already!! I had a tree topple on my house during the last ice storm. Fortunately, it did no damage to the house, but I had to remove it entirely… It still seems strange that I live on Birch Court, but there are almost no birch trees left on the street. I may correct that shortcoming by planting one to replace the one I removed. I have to save up some funds because lately the cost of living is becoming prohibitive.
Hard earned dollars do not go as far and being fiscally conservative has become a way of life. We boomers are in for some tough times, especially those of us who got a late start saving and investing money. It behooves us to stick together and maintain our community with its resources. We will need all the resources we can muster in the future.
One immediate way to be involved is to join and attend our Neighborhood Planning Assembly. We hold monthly meetings at the Heineberg Senior and Community Center. Look for postings here on the forum. In addition to NPA, I encourage that you speak with city councilors, Board of Health members, school board members, and any other appointed or elected servants of the city. Your input to the processes of governance and change is critical to successful outcomes. I have learned not to underestimate the power of my single voice and certainly not the collective power of our many voices together. Please write, call, post on the forum and blogs, do whatever you can to raise community consciousness.
I also want to mention our need to reach out in our immediate neighborhoods. There are some of us living alone and living poorly for lack of resources. I believe that it would benefit them greatly if we paid them a neighborly visit. I encourage us to find small, but effective ways, to help someone near us. I keep in my own mind, that someday it could be me waiting for someone to be friendly and loving. Please reach out to your neighbor next door and beyond. The rewards for doing so will be great!!!
Please help us continue and expand this work… vote today and spread the word!
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