Vermont organizations take on post-flood fundraising, again

Volunteer and fundraising systems established in the wake of the July 2023 floods are being revived after flooding once again tore through central and northern Vermont earlier this month.

“More help is always needed,” Jennifer Morrison, the state’s commissioner of public safety, said during a press conference last week.

Those who want to sign up to help with storm cleanup can register online as an individual or a group, “or you can simply roll up your sleeves, grab a shovel, and help your neighbors,” Morrison said.

Morrison also suggests checking in with your town, or a nearby impacted town, to see if there’s help needed at a local cleanup event.

Flood-affected residents can call the state’s Crisis Cleanup line at 802-242-2054 for aid in removing debris, de-mucking basements and other recovery efforts, according to Morrison. Support can also be accessed at www.crisiscleanup.org , she said.

“As always, cash is king,” Morrison said. “Cash donations are the most efficient way to get aid to people and communities in need.”

The Vermont Community Foundation has renewed its Flood Response and Recovery Fund , which “is again poised to respond and accept donations from people who want to help.”

Dan Smith, president and CEO of the foundation, said this week that the main focus now is determining the scope and varying nature of the flooding’s impact in different communities to put resources to work as effectively as possible. The fund issued its first grant in response to flooding at the end of last week.

Since its inception after the July 2023 floods, the fund had amassed nearly $14 million, over $9 million of which has been allotted to more than 100 communities across the state, according to the recovery fund’s website.

“We’re starting from a more robust disaster response and recovery infrastructure than we had in place this time a year ago,” Smith said.

Smith said this round of disaster and recovery highlights the long-term issues of flood-prone structures and land use, but it’s not the time for that conversation. For now, he said securing people’s safety is the main concern.

“We’re hearing terrifying stories that people just continue to be isolated and on remote roads and things like that,” Smith said on Monday. “You know, they can’t get to and from their houses, can’t get up and down their driveways. People (are) stuck.”

Donations can also be made to the Northern New England Red Cross or your local United Way .

Physical donations such as food, clothing, or household items are best handled at the local level, Morrison, the public safety commissioner, said, as food shelves, community shelters and other local charities have the best information about their community’s needs, “and they can always use donations.”

Many residents are also turning to Facebook, crowdsourcing aid and spreading the word about community efforts and updates on the #VTFlood Response and Recovery Mutual Aid group, which as of last week had about 9,000 members.

Susannah Kerest, the head of member engagement for Front Porch Forum, reshared a document of crowdsourced flooding resources , originally created by Wendy Rice at Vermont Connector, a consulting business, in the aftermath of July 2023 floods.

Grace Potter, a popular singer-songwriter from Vermont, said she is designating “every penny” of proceeds from her Grand Point North concert series to flood relief and is in the process of arranging a silent auction for the festival, which is scheduled for July 27 and 28 at the Waterfront Park in Burlington.

“It’s given me a really strange, helpless feeling, but as I’ve indulged in the helplessness for one second I realized that there was something I could do,” she said in a video posted to X on Friday.

Following the July 2023 floods, Potter took similar action, raising funds for Vermont Community Foundation’s Flood Response and Recovery Fund through a Flood Relief Livestream .

“Vermont, you are my home, and my heart is always with you,” she said in the video. “It’s really hard to not be there right now, but I’ll be home soon, and we can join together to rebuild, like we always do. I’ll see you soon.”

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