Getting connected to your community can be hard in a rural area – which is why Vital Communities is excited to announce the launch of the new Upper Valley chapter of the Vermont Welcome Wagon Project! Created to help new and recently returned Upper Valley residents connect to community hosts and local resources, this program is open to adults from all backgrounds.
Are you new to our region? We invite you to become a participant! Are you a local of the Upper Valley? We invite you to volunteer to be a host!
Newcomers (“participants”) will be connected with up to three local “hosts.” The hosts will reach out to the chapter coordinator to be introduced to you. Together the host and participant can schedule a meeting in a safe and mutually convenient location. These meetings offer the perfect opportunity to get to know the ins and outs of your new community and to ask questions of a neighbor.
With a newly opened chapter here in the Upper Valley, this program is seeking participants and hosts on both sides of the Connecticut River If you are interested in volunteering to be a host or to participate as a new resident, learn more here!
The Upper Valley chapter of the Vermont Welcome Wagon Project is coordinated by Vital Communities and advised by the Green Mountain Economic Development Corporation, the Space on Main, and the Upper Valley Young Professionals.
The Upper Valley Chapter is the fifth regional chapter to open in the state since the project began in Chittenden County in 2018. The statewide program seeks to “complement the efforts in the State to close the talent gap in Vermont by helping retain new, newly returning, and existing Vermonters in the state by assisting them to get connected to community,” according to the VWWP website.
“We live in an area that is so rich with community activities, delicious food, captivating arts, passionate mom and pop shops, and an abundance of beautiful recreational opportunities,” said Monique Priestley, Executive Director of Bradford’s The Space On Main. “Yet for newcomers, the Upper Valley can feel challenging and isolating. With the newest chapter of VWWP, we will provide a resource that establishes an early and inviting connection to the people and places that make our region such an incredible place to live.”
Published 3/14/22