The Burlington Free Press reports that the Front Porch Forum (www.frontporchforum.com) is a digital neighborhood where neighbors can come together online for free to "communicate and connect through e-mail newsletters." Michael and Valerie Wood-Lewis, who moved to Burlington from Washington, D.C. 10 years ago, started the online forum in 2000 for their Burlington neighborhood. The forum has since expanded to include 130 neighborhood forums in Chittenden County and 10,000 subscribers. "On the forum, neighbors, who are identifiable by name and street address, post information or questions on a range of issues. The topics, whether a missing cat or a hazardous cross-walk, are typically bound by the interests and parameters of the neighborhood" and "the combined forums generate about 2,000 messages a month." Notably, "the Front Porch Forum has received national recognition for its work, including grants from the Middlebury-based Orton Family Foundation and the Case Foundation." Orton also "selected the Forum for its 2007 Innovator in Place award."

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