[MRSG] Keep It In Vermont!

[Mad River Sustainability Group]

Dear MRSG,

Please pardon any redundancy here.  The calls below from Rob Williams and
Robin McDermott to reinvest our soon-to-arrive "economic stimulus" checks
directly into our home economy (Vermont) is a move that can both help us
and help us feel good by supporting our community in a very real way - $$.
 I encourage you to take a minute to read below and visit
http://www.keepitinvermont.org for more information.

Dennis

Dennis Derryberry
dennisd at madriver.com
496-7662


---------------------------- Original Message ----------------------------
Subject: "Economic Stimulus" Checks - Let's Reinvest At
www.KeepItInVermont.org!
From:    "Rob Williams" <rob.williams at madriver.com>
Date:    Fri, March 21, 2008 18:23
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hi friends and neighbors,

If I may briefly chime in here, as Robin's co-conspirator...(see the  
press release below)...

Our goal, as Robin says, is to get 350 Vermonters to pledge to
reinvest their rebate checks back into the Vermont economy by April 10.

There is no way this idea will ever work UNLESS all of us take the   time
to pass this web site on to everyone we know in Vermont who   might be
interested in helping us stimulate the VERMONT economy this   spring,
summer, and fall.

If each of us takes 1 minute to pass the web site -
www.keepitinvermont.org - and a few words of encouragement on to our  
friends, neighbors and Vermonters with whom we work - we could REALLY   DO
SOME GOOD here.

Thanks, in advance, for supporting this effort.

And enjoy your week-end,

Rob

-----------------------------------------
Dr. Rob Williams
(Web)Editor, Vermont Commons / www.vtcommons.org
editor at vtcommons.org / 802.279.3364 (mobile)
-----------------------------------------


On Mar 21, 2008, at 6:03 PM, Robin McDermott wrote:

> ***Apologies for Cross-Posting****
> PLEASE DISTRIBUTE WIDELY
> Hello!
> I am hoping that you will take a few minutes to visit
> www.KeepItInVermont.org and make a pledge to keep some of your  
Economic Stimulus money in Vermont!
> The website has lots of information and there is also a further  
explanation below of why we are working toward a goal of 350
> pledges by April 10th.
> Thanks again for your help!
> Robin McDermott
> -----------------------------------
> The rest of the story...
> I recently started a new website called KeepItInVermont.org.  The   idea
for KeepItInVermont.org came about from talking with fellow   Waitsfield
citizen Rob Williams about how great it would be if   people the money
they are getting from the government and spent it   on a CSA (community
supported agriculture) share or to purchase   food at farmer's markets. 
As one of the co-founders of the Mad   River Valley Localvore Project,
one of the biggest concerns I hear   about eating more local food is the
cost.  I saw the Federal
> economic stimulus checks as a way to overcome that barrier, in a   short
term way at least.  I imagined all of the good the millions   of dollars
that will come into our state could do for our farmers   if everyone
spent their checks on Vermont grown, raised, and
> produced food.
> One thing led to another and practically before even I knew it (and   I
am the webmaster!), the KeepItInVermont.com website was up and  
running.  While the idea has broadened to encouraging people to   spend
their money on anything that keeps the money in the state,   the basic
premise is the same...let's take advantage of this
> opportunity to increase the wealth and well-being of the green  
mountain state.
> The idea of the website is to get people thinking about how they   will
spend their stimulus checks.  Just the other night I was at a   fairly
large meeting and had mentioned KeepItInVermont.org to the   group.  At
the end of the meeting a very enthusiastic woman came up   to me and
said that she loved the idea of keep it in Vermont and   that she
decided she was going to use her money to buy a CSA.  She   said that
every spring she wants to purchase a CSA, but it is hard   to come up
with the chunk of cash needed to buy a share.  In the   short time that
I described the idea of KeepItInVermont.org at   least one person had
decided to keep her stimulus money in Vermont. One of the objectives of
the website is to quantify the amount of   stimulus money that will be
kept in Vermont by Vermonters.  That is   why there is a pledge form on
the site.  We are asking people to   make a completely anonymous pledge
and to tell us where they plan   to put their money.  I believe that the
more money that gets added   to our ticker, the more motivated others
will be to make a pledge.    It is also fun reading the pledges and
learning how others will be   spending their money.
> So, I am writing to ask you to please take a few minutes to go on   the
site and make a pledge.  Our goal is to get a quarter million   dollars
in pledges by April 10.  From the numbers we have so far,   that means
about 340 more people need to make a pledge by April   10.  Our thought
is that once we have a nice round number to talk   about we will be able
to take this story to the statewide press and   spread the word
throughout Vermont and we hope for that to coincide   with April
15th...tax day!
> Can you help us get the word out by taking the pledge and also by  
passing this e-mail onto your friends and asking them to take the  
pledge?  We sure would appreciate it!
> Thanks again and remember to KeepItInVermont!
> Robin McDermott