South Burlington neighborhood goes above and beyond to help others

SOUTH BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) - One South Burlington neighborhood is going above and beyond to be the best neighbors they can be.

Each year for the past seven years, folks in the McIntosh Avenue area of South Burlington have put on a handful of community service projects.

It began when the Beacon Apartments came to the neighborhood. Neighbors collected canned goods and other items to bring to anyone in need.

Now, it has expanded to food drives, donating flowers from weddings and events to retirement homes, and shoveling to support the end of Alzheimer’s.

According to organizer Louis Godin, donations have totaled more than $80,000, and 7,400 pounds.

“Why not? I mean we have that ability, everybody is close by. It’s a great neighborhood, a lot of people want to help out and it’s convenient. Everything is right in the neighborhood so you don’t have to go anywhere. Every neighborhood is special, it just takes someone to get it started,” he explained.

According to a press release, some of the projects they’ve done include:

1. www.FoodDrivePlus.org – “Folks in the Orchards have organized a “Food Drive Plus” campaign to collect donations for food as well as laundry detergent, cleaning supplies, personal hygiene products, toiletries, socks and other items families need every day in support of Feeding Chittenden and Community Health Center of Burlington. To date the program has collected more than 7,400 pounds of donations (in support for Beacon and Bel Air Apartment in the Orchard neighborhood).”

2. Continue the Love – “This program distributes flowers from completed events and weddings to local retirement communities. Hundreds of bouquets have been donated to bring a smile to the community’s seniors.”

3. Shoveling for a Cause – “During named snowstorms, residents help shovel driveways in the neighborhood to raise awareness for Alzheimer’s and support neighbors suffering from this disease. Shoveling for a Cause also supports the local Champlain Valley Walk to End Alzheimer’s with a neighborhood team and fundraising efforts.”

Additional local projects include, among others, Project Peonies and Operation Apple.

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