On Tuesday June 17 from 4:30-8:30 pm, all Windham community members are invited to gather at the Windham Meeting House for a free community dinner and the opportunity to be an active participant in sharing and developing ideas for the future vitality, quality of life, and prosperity of Windham.

This event is the first of two steps of the “What’s Possible, Windham?” process facilitated by the Vermont Council on Rural Development (VCRD). In the first meeting, the community will brainstorm points of vision and ideas for the future. In the second, attendees will choose top priorities, form task forces to work on them, and build action plans with help from experts. All community members are invited – year round and seasonal residents, business owners, those that work in town, youth and anyone who cares about Windham. All are welcome to help shape the future of town.

On June 17, attendees will join forums to discuss what is working well, challenges in the community, and opportunities to take action. The forum topics were chosen by a representative group of Windham community members with many different perspectives. VCRD will facilitate the discussions and a Visiting Team of state, regional, federal, and non-profit leaders will listen, share reflections, and support the community as they begin this work.

All community members are invited to join any of the sessions that they are interested in:

  • 4:30 – 6:00 PM – Community Vision Forum
  • 6:00 – 7:00 PM – Free Community Dinner, with live music
  • 7:00 – 8:30 PM – Living Together & Building Connections Forum
  • 7:00 – 8:30 PM – Land, Growth, & Sustainability Forum

For those unable to meet in person, an online Zoom forum will be held 7:00 – 8:30 pm. Community members can also share their ideas through a paper or online survey available at the Town Offices, Windham Meeting House and at bit.ly/WhatsPossibleWindham.

The Windham Selectboard invited the Vermont Council on Rural Development (VCRD) to conduct this community engagement process. VCRD is a non-partisan nonprofit helping Vermont communities develop their capacity for a prosperous and sustainable future. In the past 20+ years, VCRD has worked with over 90 communities across the state to bring residents together through their facilitated community processes to share ideas and move toward common solutions.

Jessica Savage, VCRD’s Director of Programs and Strategic Initiatives says, “Our smallest towns in Vermont have incredible residents and big dreams, and we see that everyday, Vermonters know what will work for their communities: but they need support, collaboration and resources to make these dreams into reality. This process is a chance for residents from every corner of Windham to share their ideas for the future of their town, and to access the support and resources they need to accomplish their goals.”

Childcare will be provided during the forums. Please plan to use the free shuttle: park at the Windham Town Offices and take the shuttle to the Meeting House starting at 4 pm. Carpooling is encouraged. If you need a ride to the event, call Neighborhood Connections at 802-824-4343, Option #1 by June 15. Interpretation or other accommodations are available by request before June 10 — contact [email protected] or call 802-222-0863. Details about the survey, online forum, free childcare, parking, free shuttle, and accessibility accommodations can all be found at bit.ly/WhatsPossibleWindham.

Step two will take place on July 24 when community members will come back together to champion action ideas, set priorities, and sign up for task forces to take action on each priority. A team of technical and financial resource providers will join to help the new task forces as they create action plans.

“What’s Possible, Windham?” is funded with support from the Vermont Agency of Administration’s Municipal Technical Assistance Program and VCRD supporters and donors.

For more information, visit  bit.ly/WhatsPossibleWindham, or contact Jessica Savage at VCRD at (802) 227-2790 or [email protected].

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The Vermont Council on Rural Development (VCRD) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the support of the locally-defined progress of Vermont’s rural communities. VCRD is a dynamic partnership of federal, state, local, nonprofit and private partners. Actively non-partisan with an established reputation for community-based facilitation, VCRD is uniquely positioned to sponsor and coordinate collaborative efforts across governmental and organizational categories concerned with policy questions of rural import. The organization has facilitated over 90 Community processes, resulting in hundreds of locally defined projects including new childcare centers, wastewater infrastructure, downtown redevelopments, and much more.