Vital Communities is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization in White River Junction, Vermont. The group is dedicated to engaging citizens and communities in quality-of-life issues in the Upper Valley region of Vermont and New Hampshire. It serves as an umbrella organization for six non-profit projects.
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Vital communities
History
Vital Communities began in 1997, when the League of Women Voters of the Upper Valley spun off its Upper Valley: 2001 and Beyond project into "Vital Communities of the Upper Valley." Dedicated to social, economic, environmental, and cultural issues, the group began three programs: Community Profiles, Valley VitalSigns, and Valley Quest, which still exists today. In 2001, Vital Communities took on the Upper Valley Transportation Management Association (UVTMA), the Upper Valley Housing Coalition, and Valley Food and Farms. In 2009, the group took over the Local First Alliance and a regional leadership academy known as Leadership Upper Valley.
Local First Alliance
Begun in 2009, the Local First Alliance [1] encourages residents of the Upper Valley to purchase locally-made products, shop at locally owned outlets, and make environmentally conscientious purchases.
Upper Valley Housing Coalition
The Upper Valley Housing Coalition [2] is a partnership of business, community, municipal, and nonprofit groups. Its mission is to promote balanced communities that provide an adequate supply of housing for the region’s workforce.
Upper Valley Transportation Management Association
The Upper Valley Transportation Management Association works to provide alternatives to single-occupant vehicle commuting in rural regions of Vermont and New Hampshire. Its Mobility Planning Checklist [3] won the Planning Project of the Year award from the New Hampshire Planners Association.[4] Article text.
Valley Quest
Based loosely on the letterbox tradition around England's Dartmoor National Park, Valley Quest offers place-based educational excursions for families, schools, and community groups. It has published books on questing activities in Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, cemeteries, and civil war sites.
Valley Food and Farm
The Valley Food and Farm program promotes local agriculture in Vermont and New Hampshire. The group publishes several guides to purchasing, cooking, and dining on local foods, and it hosts the popular Flavors of the Valley Festival.