The effort to rebuild Waterbury after Tropical Storm Irene got a boost this week with the release of a 14-minute online video, a wave of television commercials and a website created by a Colchester advertising firm for the Heritage Automotive Group.
The film Rebuilding Waterbury is Heritage-owner Dave Machavern’s contribution to boost the flood recovery effort. While the short film tells the story of a community’s perseverance, it underscores that the work is far from over to return flooded communities to normal.
“This is a chance to promote an organization that needs the exposure. It’s a statement of goodwill and a chance to connect with the public in a non-traditional way,” explains Jake Cunavelis, president of the Colchester firm Mt. Mansfield Media, which produces Heritage Group’s signature “H-Team” advertising.
Filming began in September. By December, dozens of interviews were woven into the 14-minute film depicting the destruction wrought by the August 28 storm and its aftermath. In Waterbury and nearby Duxbury, the Winooski River flooded more than 200 homes and businesses. Damage estimates hover near $10 million. The film includes interviews with residents and local officials with many images of the damage as well as the community’s rally to clean up and rebuild. It highlights the ongoing work by the nonprofit ReBuild Waterbury (RBW) to help homeowners finish their reconstruction. It also emphasizes the daunting fund-raising goal facing the organization as it seeks to help as many residents as possible.
The film can be found at www.rebuildwaterbury.org as well as www.hteamvt.com. Television commercials will air on local channels. Cunavelis is working on radio spots and several other avenues to share the project with the public. Meanwhile, the Mt. Mansfield team also tuned up RBW’s website with Heritage’s support to showcase the video, explain RBW’s mission and provide an interactive spot for RBW to recruit volunteers and share information.
Created in October, RBW is a project of the nonprofit Revitalizing Waterbury, a community organization dedicated to restoration projects and cultural and economic development in Waterbury for the past 20 years. Overseen by a volunteer steering committee, RBW’s three staff work with flood-affected homeowners. They aim to bridge the gap between reconstruction costs and resources families have using volunteer labor combined with donated and discounted materials.
RBW’s fund-raising goal is $750,000. So far it has raised less than $100,000. As part of the video release, Heritage has pledged to match the first $10,000 in donations made to RBW. Its work on the film and website represent an in-kind donation nearly 10 times that, company officials said.
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