by accdWebMaster | May 5, 2020 | Communities, Food & Beverage, Nonprofits
Vermont’s newly formed Frontline Foods chapter, organized by Burlington nurse Sheramy Tsai, is one such initiative. Tsai told VTDigger the initiative helps two frontline workers – food service employees and health care workers.
Vermont’s chapter has raised over $35,000, and donated hundreds of meals.
Other individual Vermonters are stepping up, too, like Williston’s Mary Jane Dieter, who usually works as a facilitator for better workplace communication.
She found herself with time on her hands during the COVID-19 crisis, and began baking bread at home from scratch and offering it to those having trouble making it to the grocery store, she told Seven Days.
Dieter, a.k.a. “The Bread Fairy,” and her husband created a website connecting people with bread recipes and a way to start a “bread fairy” initiative in their own community.
Irasburg pastry chef Thomas McCurdy, who owns Ardelia Farm & Co. with his husband, is a recent winner of the Food Network’s “Chopped Sweets.” Since the onset of the COVID-19 crisis, he’s launched Kingdom Direct Food Delivery, which offers safe food delivery, according to Seven Days.
Kingdom Direct sells baked goods, pantry staples like flour, goods from local farms and prepared meals.
These stories show true community spirit – like fine artisanal bread, Vermonters rise together.
by accdWebMaster | May 5, 2020 | Manufacturing
Revision Military of Essex, which manufactures protective eyewear for the military, made the switch to producing face shields. Mack Molding, a plastics manufacturer in southern Vermont, looked for an alternative to traditional masks that could be repurposed, and settled on a snorkeling mask produced by subsidiary Synectic. These new masks were supplied to Southern Vermont Medical Center. Long-time wood products manufacturer J.K. Adams of Dorset has added plastic to the list of wood varieties it cuts and shapes. By retooling some of its machinery, the company now has the capacity to produce 50,000 face shields weekly, which they send to other manufacturers to assemble into masks.
Makerspaces are also taking the innovation approach, producing hundreds of masks for local health care providers. Rutland’s The Mint created a mask using plastic a local business had in storage; they plan to manufacture 10,000 for Rutland Regional Medical Center. Faculty at Mississquoi Valley Union High School in Swanton are also building masks using the tech center’s 3D printers. Burlington’s Generator has teamed up with UVM doctors and faculty to design and produce thousands of masks. Nearby St. Michael’s College is aiding that effort by providing enough volunteers to increase the number of machines producing masks.
Individual Vermonters are making a big difference too. Vermont State Trooper Bob Zink has created hundreds of face masks and ear savers using his own 3D printer. Trooper Zink, who is based at the Rutland barracks, has provided PPE to healthcare providers across the border in New York and Massachusetts, as well as in the Bennington area.
The volunteer effort in Vermont to protect public health spans entire communities. Individual sewers are joined by national companies, makers, and hobbyists all in the communal effort to save lives.
by accdWebMaster | Apr 30, 2020 | Education
On April 30, 2020 ECHO, Leahy Center for Lake Champlain, Fairbanks Museum & Planetarium, Montshire Museum of Science, and Vermont Institute of Natural Science will launch FourScienceVT, a consortium to provide critical support for the science education needs of Vermonters during the Covid-19 Coronavirus crisis.
The goal of FourScienceVT is to provide STEM educational content, programs, and resources from four trusted science museums to Vermonters across the State. Together the institutions seek to meet the social and emotional needs of struggling families during this time of great uncertainty through integrated online and in-person learning experiences.
As the pandemic continues to shutter schools, early childhood learning centers, out-of-school environments, and other informal learning spaces, these Vermont-based museums have banded together to provide resources in various online formats. Through offerings such as live science broadcasts on Zoom and Facebook, video content with friendly and knowledgeable educators, behind-the-scenes tours of collections, and downloadable resources for families and teachers, the group’s collaborative efforts cover a spectrum of learners.
“I want to thank the FourScienceVT museums for stepping up to provide STEM educational content to Vermont learners,” said Secretary of Education Dan French. “Because so much of STEM is about discovery and application, it is important to have high quality learning resources for students to explore. Vermont is lucky to have such robust institutions within our small borders, and I appreciate them contributing to our Continuity of Learning efforts.”
“Working together, we are able to provide a greater variety of learning resources, each leveraging our core collections, science experiences, and expertise,” says Montshire’s executive director Marcos Stafne. “Our ability to reach multiple audiences with high quality STEM content and to direct people to local science content happening in our State helps give Vermont families and teachers a place to turn to for inspiration and intellectual stimulation.”
The mission of the consortium is to provide high quality STEM education experiences to Vermonters during a time of crisis. The group also offers support to each other. “Each museum has the need to care for their collections, facilities, and employees, while developing new digital learning opportunities—all in a time of trauma,” notes ECHO’s executive director Phelan Fretz. “Our teams have been meeting on a regular basis to share best practices for digital engagement and action plans for safely reopening.”
To guide people through the stream of digital and downloadable resources, the group has developed FourScienceVT.org, a curated platform for families and schools to access Vermont-centric STEM interactive curriculum and experiences. “It’s a new world of digital engagement,” says Fairbanks’ Executive Director Adam Kane. “We made a quick shift to delivering programming online and have seen our viewership grow exponentially. Teachers are especially hungry for high-quality STEM content.”
“We know that in the best of times, teachers reach out to each of our museums for STEM support, and we have long established connections with local schools,” says Charlie Rattigan, executive director of VINS. “It’s a natural fit for our individual teams to work together to both create dynamic STEM experiences and get the message out. We’re here to support Vermonters during this time of need and hope to address the STEM education access disparity inherent in our rural communities.”
While this consortium has formed in a time of crisis, each museum has looked into the future when their individual institutions will serve as a place of recovery for families and schools. Creating a collaboration now works toward a targeted resource for STEM learning in the future, when schools and families will need additional support. For more information about FourScienceVT, visit FourScienceVT.org.
by accdWebMaster | Apr 22, 2020 | Communities
Geoff Hatheway, owner of Londonderry’s Magic Mountain, has been donating ski goggles to health care workers, starting with a hospital in hard-hit New York, according to the Bennington Banner.
Businesses statewide are finding ways to step up and help, as Seven Days Brand Studio and Pomerleau Real Estate show in their rolling round-up of small businesses helping local communities.
Small businesses themselves need help too, and that’s the mission behind Love Vermont, a website that lets customers support their favorite businesses from home, whether buying gift cards or ordering take-out and delivery.
In Brattleboro, a 48-hour “gift card challenge” brought funds to local businesses, matched by gift cards for families in need. As the Brattleboro Reformer reported, the funds came from donations from community members. Also in Brattleboro, resident Nicole Reisman, who operates Nicole’s Community Kitchen, is cooking meals for the food insecure at no charge, no questions asked.
Signs explaining and encouraging social distancing have been popping up all over Rutland. MyNBC5 reports that Awesome Graphics of Rutland is giving away the signs, which also bear inspirational messages.
CNN recently featured a group of Williston parents who raised extra funds for the janitorial staff who put in extra hours to clean two area schools after a staff member experienced cold-like symptoms.
And in Essex, Shannon’s Fine Jewelry imported and donated 3,000 medical masks from Vietnam to community health care providers, according to the Essex Reporter.
Even when struggling during the pandemic, Vermont small businesses are doing what they do best: supporting their local communities.
by accdWebMaster | Apr 21, 2020 | Communities, Vermonting
Communities are finding special ways to continue to celebrate birthdays. In Richmond, police officers in masks and gloves pull up to the houses of kids celebrating birthdays, bearing gifts with flashing lights and sirens. The St. Albans Police Department showed its support for health care professionals by mounting a parade, with lights on, through the village.
Vermont weekly Seven Days’ video series Stuck In Vermont explored ways Vermont communities are sticking together while staying apart, including a daily parade in Vergennes, musicians posting performances online, and a love song for the town of Johnson. Watch the video log here.
You can also find examples of Vermont love and kindness happening on Facebook and Twitter accounts dedicated to spreading the good going on in our communities.
Vermont-born photographer Ellen Sargent was living in Boston before COVID-19 spread widely in the U.S. and decided to quarantine in her home state. Now, she’s contributing by capturing “front porch” portraits of families from six feet away, creating memories of a historic and deeply unusual time, and using proceeds to support local restaurants and healthcare workers.
Bringing joy to the Chittenden County area is “Coronasaurus Rex” – Burlington resident Jenny Rooke in a Tyrannosaurus Rex costume.
Rooke was given the costume as a way to cheer her up after her business needed to close, and since then, she’s been out in the community wearing it, making people laugh, dancing with people through their windows.
She’s not the only one trying to lighten the mood safely. Winooski hip-hop group A2VT wrote a song and made a music video encouraging people to adhere to social distancing guidelines and wash their hands.
Groups statewide are forming to help address community needs beyond trained medical help – many people are self-quarantining, or are part of an at-risk population, and need food deliveries, help walking the dog, or a lift to an important appointment.
Groups like Rockingham Help and Helpers and the Stowe C-19 Community Response are coordinating efforts to ensure Vermonters get what they need and protect our most vulnerable populations.
Vermonters are rising to the challenges of both COVID-19 and coping with life under Stay at Home requirements, and revealing some true creativity and compassion that help carry everyone through.
