MIDDLEBURY / BRANDON — Within Sparrow Art Supply’s perch above the Otter Creek in downtown Middlebury, a strand of homemade postcards is hung above a small table set up with their blank counterparts, colored pencils and pens for the store’s flood relief fundraiser, Love From Your Neighbor.  

It’s part fundraising and part art, according to owner Beth Bluestein. 

As she witnessed the creek’s gentle flow turn to raucous rapids, she concocted a plan to harness the creativity of her customers and their desire to help fellow Vermonters experiencing the worst flood damage from the state’s historic deluge.

Bluestein, 31, spearheaded the postcard initiative and proposed a joint effort with Hey June’s Stationery Shop and Letterpress Studio in Richmond. 

Their shared Love From Your Neighbor campaign, which went public on Tuesday, July 25, is both meant to raise money for the Vermont Mainstreet Flood Recovery Fund and provide a way for Vermonters to extend a helping hand to their neighbors. 

The two shops will continue collecting through Sunday, Aug. 13. 

Both stores have set up a craft station in their establishments with supplies so participants can decorate postcards on the spot or create their designs at home. They are also accepting mail-in submissions, but ask that postcards be made on a 4×6 piece of watercolor paper, bristol board, or mixed media paper, and that they be sent in an envelope to either store. 

“We will have a table to collect donations and decorate cards at the Midd Summer Market on Aug. 10 and at Foodaroo on Aug. 13,” Bluestein said. 

“I’m trying to get in touch with the Bristol Farmer’s Market as well,” she added. 

“This idea came out of being creative, creating some sort of gesture of encouragement for people and then, obviously trying to collect a monetary donation, but obviously, trying to not make it exclusive,” Bluestein said. 

To achieve this dual desire, the stores ask that participants donate one dollar when they make a card. 

“It’s only a dollar, though people have been super generous and have given more.”

Above the Sparrow Art Supply table, Bluestein has displayed a selection of the cards her store has received, with subject matter ranging from a worm enjoying the sweet treat of a strawberry to pink, yellow and orange flowers to cute cows to a kind-looking bear. 

“People are so creative. And it’s just really heartfelt,” she enthused. 

Submissions have yielded roughly $200 and 25 cards. 

“I just hope that whenever we get them in the hands of other Vermonters that they’re going to feel the love from us and that they know that we’re thinking of them,” Bluestein said. 

She noted the initiative is also meant to provide people with a tangible way to help.

“I think there’s a lot of power in art. And there’s something about a human gesture of encouragement, and I think our customers really appreciate that.”

Bluestein added, “I think this is a nice outlet for young artists. I’m sure they’re hearing all about what’s going on in Vermont, and not sure of what exactly is happening and what they can do to help.”

Last Saturday, the Vermont Bookshop in Middlebury and The Bookstore in Brandon also seized the opportunity to participate in flood relief efforts. 

To reduce the financial burden of flooding damages to Bear Pond Books in Montpelier and Next Chapter Bookstore in Barre, the New England Independent Booksellers Association coordinated 15 independent bookstores statewide to raise funds for both stores. 

The 20% contribution that participating stores were asked to contribute to the effort yielded over $1,200 from The Vermont Bookshop, and almost $600 from The Bookstore. 

“I would say that our business on Saturday was at least 30% more than we would see on a normal Saturday,” Vermont Bookshop owner Becky Dayton reported. 

“People clearly wanted to help and were deliberate about shopping with the stores on Saturday,” she added. 

The Bookstore also experienced a busier-than-usual store, per bookseller Cecil Reniche-Smith. 

“We also lucked out in that there was a wedding in town, where many of the wedding guests were book geeks, and so they’re like, let’s go to the independent bookstore. Then when they found out what we were doing, they all bought more than they had originally planned on, specifically so the money would go to these other bookstores that they weren’t even in,” she said.

Reniche-Smith said the store decided to participate “because I know if we were in the same position, they would do that for us.” 

For Dayton, the fundraiser was a quintessential Vermont experience. 

“To me, this is Vermont, in a nutshell, this is how we operate in our lovely, beautiful supportive state … it’s nice that we all know one another and we really care about one another and each other’s communities. And it’s very heartening to see this kind of thing happen so quickly.”