Every individual matters.

Every individual has a role to play.

Every individual makes a difference.

~ Jane Goodall

It’s unusual for a small Vermont town like Norwich to be featured on the CBS national news because of its citizens’ goodwill. But that’s exactly what happened in early December when Dan & Whit’s general store owner Dan Fraser put out a plea for help due to the statewide worker shortage. Every position needed to be filled or the store would close. That’s when community members stepped forward and volunteered to stock the shelves and run the registers. Remarkable as the turnout has been, and it has been an amazing event, this is far from the first time the people of Norwich, sometimes as a group, sometimes as individuals, have stepped forward.… Read More

“How can we help?” Reverend Jan Hutslar and the folks at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of the Upper Valley in Norwich were able to answer this question by hosting the retrofitted RV that Simon Dennis, director of the Center for Transformation Practice (CTP) in Hartford, and his team put together to house two previously un-housed persons. 

The RV has been outfitted into two apartments that can each house a person comfortably with the necessary amenities for most activities of daily life. The church first became involved in the project after Dennis sent a letter to the congregation gauging their interest in hosting the RV home.… Read More

A local store struggles to maintain staffing during the Covid pandemic and is faced with the possibility of having to shutter for good. The owner throws a Hail Mary pass and puts out a call for help to the community – would residents and customers be willing to take a weekly shift? And in a resolution fit for a Christmas movie, many people answered the call. The store is saved.

Of course, this isn’t a Hallmark movie, and it isn’t any local store. It’s the true story of how Dan & Whit’s stayed in business despite losing most of its staff due to the exigencies of a global pandemic. … Read More

“Hey mom! What kind of dogs are those?”

“Those are probably street dogs, Azor,” Aimee responded. “They’re called village dogs here.”

“Well, where’s the owner? And why are they out on the streets?”

“They don’t really have owners. That’s why they’re called village dogs. They kind of have their own communities.”

“Ok, well can we feed them? Can we take them home? They look starving, and they’re all so skinny!”

“You can feed them, but we can’t take them home.  I know it’s hard but there is not a lot we can do.”

It was 2010. Aimee Goodwin and her sons, Azor and Sam, along with Eydie, John, and Brook Leigh, also of Norwich, were cycling the streets of Tulum, Mexico.… Read More