WRV Weekly News | 7/2/25
Just dropped! The 1st edition of the WRV Strong Weekly Community News, featuring updates from Bethel, Royalton, and White River Valley community organizations.
Weekly Community Updates & Good News from Bethel, Royalton, and the White River Valley
Hello WRV Community! Bethel Strong is very excited to be launching a weekly newsletter to share and celebrate the energy and effort behind the awesome work going on this summer. We hope to become a hub for opportunities, events, collaboration, and share all the ways we can support one another.
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How to submit your news for next week!
TONIGHT! Pop-Up Community Mixer at the Bethel Bandshell (new weekly event)
WRV This Week: Highlights from Community Organizations
What’s Ahead: Upcoming Events and Activities
Get Involved: Volunteer Needs, Asks, Offers, and More
Got News for Next Week? Newsletter Input?
Our amazing summer intern, Terra, will compile each week’s news based on what you submit. The more you share, the better it gets.
Submit next week’s news! Big or small, we’d love to share your highlights, news, events, volunteer needs, and more! Fill out this quick form by Weds. night. Submission Form
What do you think? This is our first pilot news edition! Tell us what you like, what you want to find or share, and what would make it better. Feedback Form
New! Weds. Night Pop-Up Community Mixer / Market
TONIGHT: 6 PM @ the Bethel Bandshell | BCA Concert at 7 PM
There’s no Bethel Farmers’ Market this year, so we’re *also* experimenting with a pilot weekly pop-up community event in conjunction with Bethel’s weekly summer concert series. Each week, we’ll set up the Bethel Placemaking Trailer with tables, chairs, tents, lawn games and more. Everyone is invited to come mingle, chat, meet, share, discuss, sell, play, and connect.
Tonight’s Features
Pop-Up Tech Help. Bring your phone, ipad, laptop or tech question. Friendly folks will be here to help – and gather input on whether more tech help sessions are needed.
Free Cookies! BYO treat, dessert, snack to share, or picnic dinner if you like.
Bethel Rec Kiosk & Town Plan Input. Come see draft designs for new Bethel trail maps and rec resources and add your input. And share your thoughts as our town planning kicks off.
Got an Idea for Next Week? Can you Help Set Up or Take Down?
Learn more about this event, sign up for a space here, and share your ideas We’re also looking for a few good volunteers to help us set up and take down. Ways you could tap in:
“Market” booth – sell lemonade or baked goods, give away your garden extras, or have a community display or info table. Reserve a pop-up tent or bring your own.
Conversation host – want to have a community conversation? Pitch a topic and we’ll pull up some chairs and gather folks around.
Special offering or event? Plan a hike, play music, host a fundraiser, bring a project…
WRV this Week
Highlights and Good News from Community Organizations
🌻WRV Welcomes 12 Summer Interns 🥾
12 UVM summer interns have arrived in the WRV community and are hard at work on projects within our community schools and local organizations. These projects range from distributing free summer meals for kids, improving new trails, writing for the Herald, expanding library services, and more! Currently housed at VSU Randolph, their work will continue into August. Stay tuned for headlines regarding their work throughout the summer.
Meet the Interns & Hosts! Click here to see an overview of summer interns, host sites and projects.
Intern Gatherings: WRVs summer interns unite every Wednesday at Bethel’s White Church to share updates and insights from their host organizations as well as cook and share food from their CSA with Luna Bleu Farm.
About Luna Bleu Farm and Community Supported Agriculture. Click here.
Big thanks! Summer interns are gratefully sponsored through the Leahy Institute and Ford Foundation, allowing the University of Vermont to partner with WRVSU Community Schools for 10 weeks from June-August.
📚Bethel Public Library Expands “Library of Things”📌
What IS a Library of Things? It’s an accessible lending library full of various, easily check-outable items ranging from cake pans to snowshoes. Sophie is BPL’s intern this summer, working on making BLP’s offerings more accessible.
Intern picks: Sophie’s faves: apple peeler, an electric s’mores maker, and a variety of garden tools.
Collab ideas: Great tools for interns and community orgs: garden tools, seed library, free passes to state parks, museums, and rec sites.
Check it out: Drop in to see and check out items. More online info coming soon!
🍎WRVSU Summer Food Program Success ⭐️
WRVSU gave out over 1,000 free summer meals for kids last week at the Bethel campus alone! That’s one of four WRV sites, and meal distribution goes on all summer long. All children ages 1-18 are encouraged to pick up these weekly meal kits regardless of location and background. Come pick up a kit no questions asked!
Summer Meal Kits: These kits hold a weeks’ supply of nutritional groceries and can be picked up from various locations within the WRV throughout the summer.
More Information: For pick-up times and locations check them out here. Summer Food Program
🌾Vital Communities Farm to School Resource Hub💡
Vital Communities is launching a new Resource Hub of information on how to start a Farm to School program, growing your own garden, funding opportunities, and more!
More Information: Vital Communities Farm to School
🌳Bethel Trails (and a Surprise Find) 🤫
While mapping out and updating signage throughout the new & expanding Bethel trails system, grant project manager Chris and intern Ella found a mysterious item of value last week. Did you lose something? Contact Ella ellakayski@gmail.com if you dropped something valuable on the trails last week! Tell them what and where to claim it.
Explore the trails: Click here for pilot maps and info!
What’s Ahead
Events and Activities Coming Up
Weds. July 2
Pop-Up Community Mixer / Market at the BCA Concert: 6 PM - 7:30 @Bethel Bandshell
This week: Free Tech Help Book, Rec Kiosk Draft Designs, Free Cookies!
Meet and chat with friends and neighbors, play lawn games, free tech help booth, Rec Kiosk design input, and more. Pop-up starts at 6 PM. BCA summer concert kicks off at 7 PM with classic rock by Rusted Bones.
Thurs. July 3
Farm to School Garden Event this Thursday in South Royalton
White River Valley Elementary/High School from 3-5pm, Alexa will be hosting a DIY seed bomb activity. Family friendly event, no registration needed!
Thurs. July 10
Farm to School Garden Event in Bethel
Bethel Elementary/Middle School from 3/5pm, Alexa will be hosting another DIY seed bomb activity. Family friendly event, no registration needed!
Ongoing
Bethel Summer Concerts: Every Wednesday through August - Bethel Council on the Arts Summer Concert at Series at Bandshell Park.
Bethel Area Food Shelf Open: Mondays 12-1pm and Thursdays 5-7pm
New Sections Coming Soon!
We’d love your input for these sections… What else do you want to find or read in community news? What do you want to share or get out? Got items to add? Click here to let us know what you’d include. Submission Form
Free and/or Fun: Things to Do and Explore
Maple Creamies locations (Toziers, Locust Creek, Silloway Farm)
Tubing on the White River
Hiking the Bethel Trails
Get Involved!
Volunteer Needs and Opportunities
Bethel Trails Work Day Coming soon! Stay tuned or email Ella to get on a list
Bethel Area Food Shelf - volunteers always needed! Contact Cindy.
Do you have volunteer opportunities? Big or small, we’d love to share your volunteer needs!
Asks
Are there specific things you or your organization are looking for?
volunteers, items, outreach
Offers
What’s free to use? What are you offering or want to share?
Bethel’s Placemaking Trailer! Here is a link to its list of contents: https://bethelvtstrong.org/placemaking-trailer
Feedback & Contact
Thank you for taking time to catch up with us! Since this is our first pass at our Community Newsletter, we are encouraging any feedback you can give us!
Have feedback? Leave a suggestion.
Got news, events, and stuff to include next week? Newsletter Submission. Submission deadline: Weds. evenings. Newsletter target: Friday mornings.
Connect with Bethel Strong
Terra Schommer, Intern
Questions? Contact me! terra.schommer@gmail.com
Check out our website for more info and a newsletter archive: