Community Giving
Green Mountain Power is focused on building a stronger Vermont by working with customers to give back to the communities we serve. We continually work with our customers and employees to help organizations that play key roles in helping their communities. Specifically, GMP supports programs and organizations that engage in safety, first responders, community health and well-being and education.
If you are a community group seeking volunteers, please send an email to [email protected]. If you are seeking a financial contribution, please fill out our Community Giving Application and email it to [email protected].
Awards given are usually under $500.
Community Outreach Programs
Osprey Restoration
The rebound of nearly extinct ospreys in Vermont is a story of dedication and hard work – one in which we’re proud to have played a role. Vermont utilities have always worked to protect Vermont’s natural resources, and back in the 1980s, we began a long customer-suggested campaign to save the endangered raptors.
Working with the Vermont Department of Fish and Wildlife and customer Meeri Zetterstrom – known to many as Grandma Osprey – we helped remove ospreys from the endangered species list in 2005. Through a dedicated education program that included publication of a hardbound children’s book, “Meeri Meets the Ospreys,” and installation of dozens of nesting platforms, GMP, with support from GMP and other utilities, helped the fish-eating raptors flourish across Vermont.
These days, ospreys can be found throughout Vermont, plying the state’s waterways for fish and symbolizing what can be achieved when individuals, government, and the business community work together. We couldn’t be more proud – or more in awe of these spectacular, acrobatic birds.
Gift-of-Life Marathon – 12 Days of Giving
For most Americans, giving blood is a once-in-a-while thing, if they even do it all. Barely 5% of Americans donate blood on a regular basis. But the Vermonters in the Rutland area are no ordinary Americans. Nearly 20% of adults in Rutland donate blood regularly. This is due, in part, to the Gift-of-Life Marathon created by us in 2003. In 2011, it became the second-largest community blood drive in U.S. history.
Employee blood drives have been a part of the routine at GMP for years. The idea for the Gift-of-Life Marathon came out of this routine. While it started out small, the event quickly broke county, state, regional, and New England records, becoming a central focus of the greater Rutland community in recent years. It even prompted a New York filmmaker to cast his lens on Rutland, resulting in the documentary, “The Blood in This Town.”
Our employees organize and promote the event with the help of radio partner WJJR. Many of our coworkers donate blood or help run the event, which has been described as a giant block party where people also donate blood. In 2012, the Red Cross collected 1,955 pints at the Gift-of-Life Marathon, just shy of the national record of 1969. On December 17, 2013 Rutland broke for the national record for a single day blood drive. To learn more, check out our Gift-of-Life Marathon Facebook page.
Pack the Paramount
In partnership with WJJR-FM, the Vermont Country Store and Carpenter and Costin, we host the annual Pack the Paramount Food Drive to support the Salvation Army, Rutland Community Cupboard, and the Bennington Rutland Opportunity Council of Rutland, VT.
Pack The Paramount, which has annually collected tons of food to fill seats at The Paramount Theatre and ultimately the food shelves, is changing names and focus: It is now known as Pack The Paramount – The Rutland “Newly”wed Game. The annual event features local couples competing in the old game show, with a live audience’s ticket purchases replacing the bags and boxes collected in years past.
This new take on a long-running effort is expected to significantly raise awareness of hunger issues, and expand the impact on local food shelves.
Pack the Paramount – The Rutland “Newly”wed Game
Memorial Coat Drive
In December 2003, employee Paul Sweeney organized the company’s first coat drive in St. Johnsbury, VT. More than 1,000 coats were collected and distributed, with the help of the Salvation Army, to folks in need. Paul, who was a pillar in his community, died without warning a month later. The Paul Sweeney Memorial Coat Drive was renamed in his honor and established as an annual event.
Every fall since, we’ve collected over 1,000 clothing items, and hundreds of people of all ages have turned out to find new coats, hats, mittens, and boots. Some of Paul’s personal items have been distributed through the drive, and his family members and former co-workers delight in helping to collect warm outerwear for those in need.
We are pleased to see how Paul’s generous spirit lives on through this event, and how the community he served for many years continues to benefit from his work.