It’s important for us to be involved and active members of our local community, and we try to get involved in service projects frequently. We often take on a project out of a staff member’s concern for a cause they are involved with or a request they’ve received from an organization to which they belong.
This year we participated in King Arthur Flour’s Bake For Good. Every year, King Arthur sponsors a month long campaign that’s goal is to raise awareness of hunger. We pledged to bake bread for our local foodshelf, the Brattleboro Drop-In Center. By the end of the day we had five loaves to donate to the shelter and hope that next year we can do even more!
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Our international team of collaborators, working to conserve monarch habitat in Mexico, the USA & Canada. From left: Peggy Farabaugh of Vermont Woods Studios, John Hayden of The Farm Between, Dr. Heather Darby, UVM Extension Specialist, Jose Luis Alvarez of Forests for Monarchs, Francois Simard of Industries Encore 3 & Roger Rainville of BorderView Farm.
Monarch Habitat Restoration in the USA, Mexico & Canada
Last week Mexican monarch butterfly conservationist, Jose Luis Alvarez & Canadian entrepreneur, Francois Simard joined Megan & me for our Save the Monarch Butterfly tour of New England. We stopped at 8 venues from Boston to Philadelphia, and then wrapped it up with a visit to monarch researcher, Dr Lincoln Brower in Virginia.
Every year the local radio station hosts a food drive at the historic Latchis Hotel & Theater in Downtown Brattleboro for our neighbors in need. The goal of the event is to load every seat at the theater, 750 in total. This year, Megan and Peggy collected five bags full of food to donate to the event.
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Can you spot all four caterpillars in this photo? These are just some of the little guys we’ve adopted this summer.
From barely noticeable caterpillar to one of nature’s most beautiful creatures.
Monarch Butterflies have long been a popular and famous insect. Their image is used everywhere from GMO free food labels to makeup ads. And, just a couple of months ago President Obama met with the Canadian Prime Minister and Mexican President to discuss how these three countries can save the monarch. With seven states including Vermont calling it their state insect, it’s a wonder how we’ve let the monarch butterfly population reach the endangered zone.
For the past several years, we’ve donated to the Daughters of Toleza Scholarship, a NPO that assists young girls in Malawi get the financial support they need to attend school. This year we helped three young girls graduate and all are preparing to take the national college entrance examinations this month. Way to go girls!!
In late May our pods filled with milkweed seeds started to sprout. While some will be given away during our Save the Monarchs Tour with Jose Luis Alvarez and planted here at our showroom, we wanted to allow those interested to have a chance to stop by and pick up a few pods for their homes. If properly cared for common milkweed can reach heights as high as 7 feet.
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It’s Field Trip Time For the Kids at Vernon Elementary School
Every Vermonter looks forward to the sound of Spring Peepers (those little green frogs that sing their hearts out) in March and April, signalling that Spring is finally here. And if you haven’t already investigated where those sounds are coming from, well you really need to get started. For the last few years, Vermont Woods Studios has been affording this opportunity to the third graders at our local school, Vernon Elementary. They get to spend some time outdoors in the forest and we get to go along for the ride. It’s great fun!
This year Vermont Woods Studios was happy to donate and attend the 9th Annual Wags to Riches Cocktail Party & Auction benefiting the Windham County Humane Society. The money donated directly supports the shelter’s work with animals and to offset the cost of spaying and neutering, medical bills, transport costs, and shelter upkeep. This year we donated a 3-Day Weekend get-a-away to Stratton Mountain Resort and a Maple Pedestal Dining Table. The event starts with a silent auction and cocktail hour and ends with a live auction!
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Part of the donation we dropped off at the Windham County Humane Society
With a staff full of animal lovers, when we heard the Humane Society was in need of food, donating was a no brainer.
According to the American Humane Association, every year about 3.7 million animals are euthanized and the ASPCA says that 5 in 10 dogs and 7 in 10 cats in shelters are euthanized because there is no one to adopt them.
So, the other day when we saw a post on Facebook from our local Humane Society (Windham County Humane Society) asking for donations of dog and cat food we knew we needed to help out.
We took a trip to the store, hunted down the animal food section and filled a cart overflowing with food. When we brought it all by the humane society, the look on the staffer’s face was priceless. We even got a chance to meet some of the cats looking for new homes.
While we’re unable to adopt a mascot for Vermont Woods Studios, we hope the donation will help the society be able to focus on helping even more animals in need of a loving home.
If you’re looking to add a new furry friend to your family, we recommend, (after careful consideration that you’ll be able to care for the animal its whole life) stopping by your local humane society to adopt.
I’ve included a few helpful links if you’re looking to adopt:
Ken and I started this Vermont furniture store 10 years ago with the belief that businesses have a responsibility to make the world a better place. In developing a company that sells handcrafted wooden furniture we wanted to raise awareness about forest conservation and persuade customers to purchase furniture made from sustainably harvested, North American wood. A decade later, we’re not naive enough to think we’ve changed the world but perhaps we’ve changed a tiny part of it and that feels good. Here are some highlights of what our team accomplished this year in support of our local community and our environmental mission:
Plant a Billion Trees Project
Vermont Woods Studios was founded on the mission of forest conservation and since the beginning, we’ve partnered with The Nature Conservancy to plant a tree for each order we take. This year it was well over 1000 trees.
Monarch Habitat Restoration Project
Nina, Peggy and other team members planted native milkweed seeds for a project that’s restoring habitat for monarch butterflies in Southeastern Vermont.
Vernon’s Giving Tree
Megan and other team members worked with officials from the Town of Vernon to provide Christmas gifts to local families in need.
Connecticut River Clean-up
Ken, Sean and a bunch more team members participated in the Connecticut River Watershed Council’s (CRWC) yearly “Source to Sea” trash cleanup of the Connecticut River. Afterwards we cooled off at Nesbitt’s Portside Tavern 🙂
Meals on Wheels
Kelsey helped Riley deliver Meals on Wheels, an activity this Vermont furniture store has done every Friday since the company was created.
Vermont Food Bank Thanksgiving Project
We helped the Vermont Food Bank distribute food during the annual “Pack to Give Back” event in Brattleboro this Thanksgiving.
Salamander Conservation
Vermont Woods Studios supported BEEC (Bonnyvale Environmental Education Center) at their annual Salamander Soiree, an event that raises awareness about amphibian migration. Some team members also went out at night and helped salamanders cross the roads on their journey to local vernal pools.
River Arts Gallery Auction
We donated a handmade wooden bed to the annual River Gallery Arts fundraiser in Brattleboro.
Wags to Riches Auction
Vermont Woods Studios donated a 3-Day weekend stay at Stratton Mountain Resort and a beautiful POLYWOOD Adirondack chair to the annual Wags to Riches fundraiser for the Windham County Humane Society.
Environmental Education at Vernon Elementary School
We sponsored an Aquatic Field Trip, where local students got the opportunity to explore a pond ecosystem.
Rainforest Conservation
Peggy, Riley and Kendall made a trip to the Amazon rainforest in Bolivia this year to lend support to a reforestation project at the Serere Reserve in Bolivia.
Providing Toys & Food for Kids in the Amazon Rainforest
We donated over $200 to bring Christmas gifts and food to children in the Amazon through Marco’s Holiday Giving Project. Thanks to Riley for setting this up!
As we close out 2015, I extend my thanks to the customers, staff members, furniture makers, family, friends, neighbors and business partners whose support made the accomplishments of this small Vermont furniture store possible. Here’s to your health and happiness in 2016!
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