Amid Recurring Flooding, Vermont Needs You

With recurring flood disasters on July 10-11 of this year, July of 2023, and this latest round of damage in communities still reeling from the destructive impact of the torrential rains three weeks ago, there is more need than ever for giving that provides help and hope.

I am asking for you to support your neighbors and partner with us again, as our VT Flood Response & Recovery Fund, established immediately following the 2023 floods, swings back into action. Our community impact team is already coordinating with local relief organizations, town officials, and affected individuals in the communities hit with a wall of water on Monday. Places like St. Johnsbury, which experienced a record eight inches of rain in six hours.

Already in July, the Flood Fund has granted out more than $300,000 to communities hard-hit by the July 10 -11 flooding. Places like Plainfield and Peacham, which saw buildings pushed into rivers, bridges crumpled, and roads cratered.  This year, many of the most affected towns are located in the most rural pockets of the state where the emerging cost to repair public infrastructure vastly exceeds local town budgets. Then there’s private property. More than 2,100 Vermonters reported home damage to the state’s 211 line after the mid-July flood, along with 250 businesses. Those numbers will doubtless increase as the impact of this week’s flooding is assessed.

These disasters remind us that our ability to work together is something that no flood can wash away. Vermonters look out for one another and once again we will do just that. We are tremendously grateful and heartened by the generosity of people near and far, which matters so deeply in difficult times. In the wake of the 2023 floods, our VT Flood Response & Recovery Fund raised nearly $14 million and granted money to more than 100 communities.

Now, incredibly, the need is here again. Here’s a sampling of what we are hearing from people, in their own words:

“The hardest part is looking out on what was a functioning farm 12 hours earlier and seeing ten years of work gone in the blink of an eye,” said Olivia and Zach Mangione, owners of Cross Farm in Barnet, where July 10-11 floodwaters killed 400 barn chicks, filled certified organic pastures with contaminated water, and deposited a wave of mud, rocks and other debris in the barnyard.

“On the night of July 10th, our 1840 home in Peacham was engulfed by a wall of water in a flash flood from the South Peacham brook. The public road washed away completely, along with our land, our barn, our cars, and our septic system. Multiple trees crashed into the house as the brook bank gave way, breaking the windows so that flood waters four feet high swirled through the house with tree debris. The next morning, an enormous mature ash tree fell and landed squarely on the roof of the home, causing more damage. Our home is unlivable and will never again be livable at this site,” said Jennifer Mackenzie, who with husband John Mackenzie, is a resident of Peacham.

“As I write this, yet another catastrophic flooding event has happened overnight and this time, even more homes were affected. … We are yet again in a state of shock and disbelief. The Vermont Community Foundation is a beacon during these unprecedented times, and we commend your efforts to help our state. Thank you for your continuing support,” said Jaime Brown, operations manager for H.O.P.E., a nonprofit in Lyndonville, on July 30.

Our goal is to get help to the people and communities facing daunting challenges like these. We also remain resolved to help partners navigate the complex work of building flood resilience through strategic land conservation upstream, removal of failing dams, smart road and community design, and many other approaches. This is essential to Vermont’s wellbeing going forward.

We encourage you to consider a donation. We can do more when we do it together. If you would like to speak with a member of the staff about how to make a gift, please contact Stacie Fagan, Vice President for Philanthropy at sfagan@vermontcf.org or 802-388-3355 extension 252.

Or give now online.

Thank you for your support and your trust.

Dan Smith
President & CEO