Kindling For Good
Everyone loves a crackling fire on a cold Vermont night—and now your kindling can do more than just get the home fires burning.
The Mad River Valley Chamber has cooked up a simple, old-fashioned way to raise money for a cause close to our hearts: the Mad River Valley Seniors’ Meals on Wheels program. It doesn’t get more neighborly than this—pick up a box of good, honest kindling and keep both your hearth and our community warm.
How It Works
Pre-made boxes of kindling are ready and waiting for you in the parking lot of Mad River Property Management / Mad River Flowers (right across from Waitsfield Elementary School). You can’t miss the roofed shelters—they’re where the boxes are tucked away, dry and ready for the taking.
A True Community Effort
This is no ordinary woodpile. The kindling is high-quality hardwood, cut to size by a quiet, kindhearted soul who visits the Valley on weekends. He doesn’t want recognition—just the satisfaction of helping his neighbors. When he brought the idea to the Chamber, we were glad to help make it happen.
Even the storage is a story of local ingenuity. The boxes are kept in stewardMRV shelters—the same sturdy sheds that protect trash and portalets at Lareau Swim Hole and Bridge Street in the summer. In the winter, they’d be sitting unused, but now they’re giving shelter to something that keeps the whole Valley warm. That’s what we call a win-win.
Special thanks to Chamber members Mad River Property Management and Mad River Flowers for providing the pickup spot and helping bring this idea to life.
Why It Matters
Every box of kindling supports Meals on Wheels, a program that delivers nourishment, comfort, and care to our Valley’s seniors. By grabbing a box, you’re not only making your woodstove happy—you’re helping make sure our neighbors are looked after, too.
So next time you’re low on kindling, don’t just reach for any old bundle. Pick up a box, drop a few bucks, and know that your fire is warming more than your own home.