In 2022, there were a series of community brainstorming forums where people from Brownington talked about visions and goals for the future of our town.  

A group of people from the town continued to meet and formed Brownington Connects to work on some of the things people identified as needed and desired for Brownington. Ideas included ways to improve road safety, preserve our culture and history, facilitate outdoor recreation, improve access to food, improve broadband and cell service, and develop a community center as a gathering and activity space. 

Since the spring of 2022:

Brownington Connects compiled a report on road safety for the Selectboard and were instrumental in getting the Northeastern VT Development Association (NVDA) to conduct a traffic study in town.

We applied for grants and held a very successful harvest festival in September 2023 where over 400 people enjoyed booths with local food and craft vendors as well as information tables and games for children. It was successful beyond our expectations 

Members of Brownington Connects also organized a monthly get together to play music and share a pot luck meal. The group rented a local venue and the response was very positive. Though the event was successful, it could not be continued because the venue was too small and could not be heated in the winter. But it was a great example of the possibilities. 

In 2024 we formed a non-profit organization called Brownington Community Trust (BCT) and obtained official IRS nonprofit (501c3) status in 2025.

Some of our activities include:

• Establishing a “Little Free Library” at the Town Clerk’s office

• Supporting the Brownington School Parent-Teacher-Community Association (PTCA) by providing snacks for their movie nights and for Staff Appreciation 

• Working with the Old Stone House Museum and providing “ploughman’s lunchboxes” for selected Kid’s Friday events in the Summer of 2025. 

• Providing food and volunteers for a Soup and Snowshoe event at the Old Stone House this winter.

We obtained some grants and other funding sources and have been working with the town and the planning commission to help with the possible development of a walking trail and looking into other possibilities for outdoor activities. 

We are also looking at possible sites for a community center or - to start with - a place where people can meet outdoors in the summer for such things as flea markets, food trucks, music, and children’s activities

Brownington Community Trust - BCT – invites input and feedback from the community and would love to have anyone interested to contact us - to get  involved or just to find out more.