Category Archives: Vermont
Angel delivers cleats and glove to Little League rookie
“Wow! I came home from work today to find brand new cleats and glove on my front porch. My son is all set for Little League. What an unbelievably generous and thoughtful gift from a complete stranger. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Barbara, you are an angel :)”
• Gretchen, Mad River Valley FPF
People ask why we work so hard to host Front Porch Forum across every community in Vermont. That’s easy to answer! It’s the constant flow of neighbor success stories — large and small — that stream through FPF every day. Here are a few more examples from the past week:
“I posted a need for firewood to get through to spring, should it ever arrive. I ran out and was in a fix with dry wood almost impossible to find. So thank you to the Front Porch Forum neighbor who came through for me. It warms the heart when someone you never met goes out of their way to be generous with their abundance. Thanks also to FPF that made this possible.”
• David, Jericho FPF
“Overwhelming response to the free paint…gone within minutes of posting! Front Porch Forum, great way to make room for spring.”
• Susan, Montpelier FPF
“FPF really worked! I received 8 recommendations for a good massage therapist. Thank you all for your help.”
• Stephanie, Burlington FPF
“Wow! Can’t thank the Barre/Berlin communities enough for their veterinarian recommendations yesterday. FPF gratitude to all.”
• Amy, Barre City FPF
“Shortly after yesterday’s FPF edition was posted, I received a helpful phone call from a new friend and was able to solve my computer problem! Gotta love the FPF concept; and to think I heard an interview with the founder on NPR earlier in the day, just magic! I will be supporting them again and hope you all do the same.”
• Ralph, Vergennes FPF
“Thank you for all the great responses and suggestions for donating egg cartons. Mine will be making their way to VYCC. FPF rocks!”
• Joanna, Richmond FPF
“Wow, FPF members are truly great! I shouldn’t have been surprised when I woke up the morning after my request for landscape designers to several recommendations!! Thanks so much… Looking forward to our spring project!”
• Nancy, Montpelier FPF
“Sharky the Cat had been missing since September- amazing reunion! Front Porch Forum made one family elated beyond description… thank you everyone for your interest.”
• Trish, Mad River Valley FPF
Front Porch Forum’s story aired across Canada
Spark, with Nora Young, covered Front Porch Forum over the weekend on CBCRadio across all of Canada and some of the United States.
How to get your event on the family calendar
Thanks to local bookstore owner superstar Josie Leavitt for her recent Publishers Weekly blog posting. In part…
… the family calendar is king. If an event makes it on the family calendar, then it’s very
likely folks will actually come and not just think about going. The family calendar runs the lives of everyone I know…
In less than two hours last night we had upwards of 12 people RSVP for an event with parenting expert Vicki Hoefle. We did not run an ad, nor did we do a radio spot. In fact, we spent no money at all. All we did was write up a modified press release for the event and post it on our local Front Porch Forum…
Read the full piece here. And check out The Flying Pig Bookstore in Shelburne, VT.
Sugaring theft in Waterbury brings out the best in neighbors
Steve posted on the Waterbury Front Porch Forum last weeks…
Hello neighbors – Sometime in the past 2 days someone stole 20 sap buckets, covers, and spouts that were out on maple trees on our property along Maple St. Disappointing by any account but when you factor in that this is a family sugaring operation, with all of the tapping done by our 3 year old, 7 year old, along with neighborhood children and friends – all of whom are looking forward to the first boil of the season, it really sours what is otherwise a sweet experience. I’ll also mention that we are planning on hosting 160 Thatcher Brook Primary School students for a sugaring field trip in a couple of weeks.
If by chance you know who may have committed this act, or perhaps the guilty party is reading this themselves, please return what you have taken. Leave them by the road (the same spot where you left 4 buckets by accident is fine) – no questions asked. Let’s support this great Vermont tradition of sugaring, not turn it into sour grapes.
Followed today by…
We would like to thank everyone in the community for all the support shown since posting about stolen sap buckets last week. Although the stolen ones haven’t shown up we’ve been able to recoup our loss through the generosity of the community we live in. Thank you Jen, Tim, Christl, and Michael for your donations!! Let sugaring season go on!
Precious photos lost on old-school floppy disk?
Follow-up posting from Steve yesterday on the East Montpelier FPF…
I want to thank all of you who sent me emails with offers of help in regards to getting access to my floppy disk that had some pictures on it that I wanted. I am all set. I have retrieved the pictures thanks to a neighbor that had the correct equipment.
And thanks to the Front Porch Forum for all of the people it reaches out to in the area.
Carpet shampooer is the new cup of sugar in Berlin
Posted to the Berlin FPF by Peg yesterday…
I asked my neighbors for a carpet cleaner and had one an hour later! Thank you Linda!!!!! And thanks to the folks who created Front Porch Forum! It’s a tool our community really needs!
Vermont Writers’ Prize goes to “Neighbors”
From VTDigger today…
Mike Minchin is the winner of the 2015 Vermont Writers’ Prize. His story “Neighbors” tells the story of two neighbors of very different backgrounds and how they connect during a power outage. The Vermont Writers’ prize is awarded by Green Mountain Power and Vermont Magazine.
Mr. Minchin said he was inspired to write this story because neighbors helping neighbors is what makes Vermont so special. “I’ve had a lot of good neighbors in Vermont ““ one helped tow my car out, another sanded my driveway in an ice-storm. We don’t always know our neighbors, but when life becomes difficult it can bring people together, and our differences even out a little bit. I was inspired during Hurricane Irene when neighbors across Vermont helped each other out”…
Contractors, doctors, house painters and… muskrats
Shared yesterday across various local Front Porch Forums… first from Jim on the Middlebury FPF…
WOW! I posted yesterday that I was looking for suggestions for contractors who could enclose a deck we have on our house and within a half hour of FPF coming out, my email box was blowing up with responses! At last count I think I got about 15 suggestions! Looks like I am going to have alot of phone calls to make! FPF is the best!
From Carolyn on her FPF in Essex Junction…
Boy! Was my mailbox full! Thanks to all of you who took the time to respond to my request re a family doctor. I will compile them all and pass the info on to my friend on Thursday. FPF is a terrific resource – but it is really all you neighbors who are great.
William on the South Hero FPF…
The response from our neighbors has been fantastic! We’ve received over a dozen replies to our request for interior painter recommendations and have narrowed our list to 3 candidates to whom we’ve reached out. Thanks for demonstrating once again that FPF is a great community resource and for your valuable input.
And, finally today, from Julie on the Hinesburg FPF…
Thanks so much for the amazing replies regarding our need to trap a muskrat. I love Front Porch Forum and am so grateful to be in such a generous and helpful community.
Vermont’s FPF featured on NPR’s All Things Considered
Wonderful to hear Front Porch Forum stories playing to a national audience on NPR’s All Things Considered.
And thanks to Vermont’s own Angela Evancie for nailing the facts while conveying the neighbor-helping-neighbor spirit of FPF.
Front Porch Forum co-founders Michael and Valerie Wood-Lewis run the company from their home office in Burlington, Vt. Credit: Angela Evancie/Vermont Public Radio
Daily Yonder’s take on FPF
By Dale Mackey, published in The Daily Yonder on Feb. 25, 2015…
A Vermont-based social media platform helps residents communicate with neighbors. In the process, participants feel more connected to each other and their communities, says the project’s founder… [click to read full article]
A block party for the Five Sisters neighborhood in Burlington, Vermont, which was Front Porch Forum’s launch neighborhood. Photo: Carolyn Bates
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
Post Categories
- Uncategorized
- PDF2009
- Calendar
- Northeast Kingdom
- podcast
- Peer Rental
- Localization
- Big Tech
- Events
- PDF2007
- Web Traffic
- Google AdSense
- Pay It Forward
- Elections
- berkmansunlight
- Maps
- Video
- Upstate New York
- Coupons
- Wildlife
- Mobile
- Viral Marketing
- Raffle
- Donations
- Crisis Response
- Lost & Found
- Gratitude
- Real Estate
- College Students
- Social Responsibility
- Best of FPF
- Orton Family Foundation
- Start ups
- Make It Your Own Awards
- Online Civility
- Clay Shirky
- Newspapers
- How To Use FPF
- Humor
- Online Classified Ads
- Peer Reviews
- Politics
- Community Management
- Economic Development
- Local Reviews
- Case Foundation
- Borrow and Lend
- Neighborhood Watch
- Good Government
- Small Business Advertising
- Citizen Journalism
- e-Vermont
- Democracy
- Local Search
- Knight Foundation
- Burlington
- MacArthur Fellows
- Civic Engagement
- Social Media
- social capital
- Social Networking
- Vermont
- Neighborhood
- Community Building
- Local Online
- Front Porch Forum