Ghost of Midnight
… about neighbors, community and Front Porch Forum
Community love
Love is in the air… and our towns!
“Thanks for all you do. In this increasingly chaotic and lonely world, you help us build community in our lovely town.” • Bruce in Burlington
New survey in Vermont reveals more trust among neighbors
Tapping 145,000 Front Porch Forum members across Vermont, a recent independent, large-scale survey revealed that FPF members know and trust their neighbors at double national averages. They also have more hope for the future of their local communities. More than 15,000 FPF members across Vermont responded to the survey.
78% of survey respondents say that their neighbors trust each other vs. 38% of Americans that say they trust their neighbors.
“It makes you proud to live in a place with such a strong sense of community.” • John in Panton
The new survey, conducted by Network Impact and supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, also found a similar pattern when asking related questions:
85% of survey respondents in Vermont are optimistic about the community where they live vs. 44% of Americans who feel hopeful about the future of their neighborhoods.
69% of survey respondents in Vermont know most of their neighbors vs. 26% of Americans who can recognize most of their neighbors.
“The recent survey shows that 89% of respondents say their neighbors help others, and 79% say that their neighbors pitch in on community projects. Being neighborly is paid forward in Vermont… to everyone’s benefit.” • Michael Wood-Lewis, Co-Founder and CEO of Front Porch Forum
This survey was commissioned by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Front Porch Forum, and conducted by Network Impact. More than 15,000 FPF members (out of 132,000 surveyed) across Vermont responded in March 2017, yielding a 99% confidence level in the results. See here for Network Impact’s report about their survey.
Downsizing with the help of neighbors
“Another use for Front Porch Forum: downsizing! I recently cleared out a shed by posting on FPF and giving the objects away for free. The lawn mower, rain barrel, etc were spoken for within minutes and people came to pick them up within a couple of days. It was so easy!” • Paige in Ferrisburgh
The items you no longer need could be just what your neighbor is looking for…. remember to post about items you’re looking to sell or donate on FPF!
BB gun vandalism
Neighbors look out for each other on FPF. There have been two dozen reports since Jan. 1 of car windows being shot out by a BB gun in Burlington, city police say. “Incidents recently were reported on Front Porch Forum” confirms the Burlington Free Press.
“Keep an eye out, our son’s car was shot at several times with a BB gun in our drive way this past week.” • Wendy in Colchester
“heads up that the rear windscreen of our car was ‘shot out’ by a BB Gun – looks as if there’s a rash of these incidents in and around our neighborhood.” • Craig in Burlington
“We just noticed that our car was shot at multiple times with a BB gun whilst parked outside our house.” • Joanne in Burlington
“This is my first post…someone shot our car with a BB gun. We have Damage to our windshield and what appears as three shots above the right headlight.” • Amanda in Burlington
“We’d like to put you on alert that our vehicle parked in our private driveway was vandalized. The likely source of the damage was a bb gun, and the damage was extensive to the body and glass.”
• Nicole in Winooski
Keep your neighbors alerted on FPF and remember to report all incidents to your local police.
Helpful recommendations come from our neighbors
Front Porch Forum members trust their neighbors for recommendations…. and get many!
“Thank you for all of your responses for the request for a post and beam barn builder. There were so many kind replies. We had no idea how many possibilities would come our way! FPF is wonderful, and so are our neighbors!” • Toni in Charlotte
“Thank you all for the helpful recommendations for an auto garage to use for inspection! Always nice to ask the neighbors!”
• Nina in St. Albans
“OMG! You are all so amazing. I got so many referrals/recommendations for website design. Thank you. I will be contacting a few of you to pick your brain for my project. Front Porch Forum rocks!!” • Penny in Waitsfield
“Thank you all for all the great recommendations we received for our posts about both an exterior house painter and a tiler. Love FPF, love this community!” • Marsha in Jericho
Looking for advice on an upcoming project? Ask your neighbors on FPF!
We have a winner!
Barbara in Danville has won a new iPad for using FPF’s “Invite Neighbors“ feature as part of our recent push for new members. She was randomly selected from those members who successfully invited their friends, family and neighbors to join the conversation on Front Porch Forum over this past week.
Congrats to Barbara and thanks to all of our FPF members who participated in our contest.
Interested in learning more ways you can stir up interest in your FPF? Learn more here:
https://frontporchforum.com/about-us/pitch-in
Invite People You Know to Join FPF… Win an iPad!
People join Front Porch Forum when they hear about it from someone they know. Spread the word to your Vermont and Washington County, NY contacts now through mid-day Friday, and you could win a new iPad!
Use FPF’s “Invite Neighbors” feature to invite as many people as you like (FPF is available in every town and neighborhood in Vermont, as well as in Cambridge, Jackson, White Creek and Argyle, NY). You’ll be entered into the raffle one time for each person you invite this way who actually signs up for a new FPF account by Groundhog Day, Feb. 2.
Invite more people to increase your odds of winning a new iPad! Try people from any walk of life… work, school, community, church, family, friends, social media, clubs and more. If your local FPF is already loaded with active members, think about people you know in other parts of Vermont and upstate NY who would be interested.
People tend to love their local FPF… so share FPF and give the gift of community. Thanks much!
Details:
Any current FPF member may enter by using the “Invite Neighbor” feature starting Sunday, Jan. 28, 2018, and ending noon ET, Friday, Feb. 2, 2018. Every new member that registers by the deadline due to your “Invite Neighbor” invitation will enter you one time in the iPad random drawing. Multiple entries per person are encouraged.
To enter:
- Go to https://FrontPorchForum.com and click LOGIN (if not already logged in)
- Click MY ACCOUNT
- Click INVITE FRIENDS TODAY under “Pitch In”
- Enter one legitimate email address of a person you know in each row.
- Click ADD ANOTHER if you want to enter more than three email addresses. (Don’t worry if you’re not sure whether your friend is already an FPF member… our system will NOT send invitations to email addresses already used by FPF accounts.)
- Click SEND INVITE to finish.
The winner of the random drawing will be presented with a gift certificate to Small Dog Electronics with sufficient funds to purchase a new iPad 9.7-inch 32GB Wi-Fi.
We will verify that the iPad winner adhered to the letter and the spirit of this contest (so please play nice!). It’s all about spreading the word about Front Porch Forum to more local folks — helping neighbors connect and build community.
Other ways to stir up interest in your FPF are located here: https://frontporchforum.com/about-us/pitch-in
Connecting with neighbors through the library
Librarians have been making great use of Front Porch Forum for over 10 years!
“Here’s your chance to get out of the house and meet your fellow Moretownites at this after hours get together at the library. Bring a snack to share (you got too many holiday cookies perhaps?), and be prepared to play Apples to Apples as our first game.”
• Librarian, Moretown Memorial Library, Moretown
“The Friends of the Castleton Free Library are thankful to be able to use Front Porch Forum to connect and share with our community. FPF certainly is a great asset to our community!” • Liz in Castleton
Over 90 librarians participate on FPF. Does yours?
Pulled out of a ditch…. and thankful
Across the state, Front Porch Forum members are thankful for their neighbors help.
“A huge thank you to the many neighbors – 5 in 15 minutes! – who stopped this evening to see if I needed help pulling my car out of the ditch. I thank everyone for offering your help. I feel so lucky to live in this town, in this state, where people are truly kind.” • Martha in Shelburne
“Thank you so much to the kind, on-the-spot firefighter who just pulled me out of the ditch on the side of the road! Its dark and cold and you still stopped to offer assistance to someone you didn’t even know. Its people like you that keep our communities going and maintain my faith in the goodness of humanity.” • Charlotte in Hinesburg
“I got stuck in road-edge snow. At least a dozen neighbors stopped to offer help, and at least one called police, who came to stand by while I waited for the AAA tug out. Many thanks to the S Burlington police officer and to the many thoughtful neighbors.” • Mike in Shelburne
“Sliding into a ditch was made much easier thanks to the help of several good neighbors. My daughter and I are so fortunate to live in a place with good neighbors, ready and willing to lend a hand. SO grateful!” • Lesley & Molly in Plainfield
“My husband’s car ended up in the ditch at the bottom of our driveway after the recent storm. Our wonderful neighbor offered to pull us out, which he did successfully. Thank you Bruce for taking the time to stop and assist us. Your help was greatly appreciated!” • Roxanne in Starksboro
When your neighbors come to the rescue, give them a shout-out on FPF!
Looking to gain traction to your website? Think FPF!
“I want to say that my Facebook page saw a huge rise in clicks since my Front Porch Forum ad campaign started one week ago. I am confident I have seen some new inquiries. I am very happy with the activity I am getting, and will keep my advertising dollars with FPF!” – Livingston at Century 21 Jack Associates
If you’re interested in learning more, contact our sales team at localbiz@frontporchforum.com
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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