Todd Bailey, a Statehouse lobbyist with KSE Partners, is a longtime denizen of Montpelier’s downtown. As he toured the flood damage along Main, State and Langdon streets last Friday, “it became pretty clear pretty quickly that the flood damage was going to have a serious impact on downtown businesses,” Bailey said outside Capitol Grounds Wednesday.
To help out those business owners, Bailey came up with the idea for a “Flash Mob Fundraiser” outside City Hall this Friday. From 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m., Bailey, along with the Montpelier Business Association, will pass around a pair of mud boots into which charitable residents will deposit donations for the flood-relief fund.
Bailey, a Montpelier resident who formerly headed the Vermont League of Conservation Voters, has tapped his expansive social media network to get out the word. His employer has promised to match all donations up to $2,500. The Vermont State Employees Credit Union, where Bailey, 39, is a board member, has pledged $1,000 to the effort.
“Certainly there are some businesses that would benefit from financial support at this point, so it’s good to see the community responding in this way,” said Phayvanh Luekhamhan, executive director of Montpelier Alive, which administers the MBA and will disburse the relief funds.
Bailey is offering potential donors to the relief fund three possible options: $103 (the level, in feet, of Lake Champlain); $57 (days it has rained this spring); and $18 (record-breaking inches of rain this spring).
People interested in giving to the cause but unable to make it Friday can make a tax-deductible donation online by visiting http://www.montpelieralive.org/ and following the instructions there.
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