Swords to Plowshares VT, Inc. is a Windham County based nonprofit and tax-exempt organization. We are dedicated to community education focused on reducing gun violence and promoting safe gun storage. We collaborate with the Windham County Sheriff’s Office and the Brattleboro Police Department. The Sheriff’s Office will receive unwanted firearms that can be safely destroyed and contributed to Swords to Plowshares VT. The dismantled firearm parts are forged into garden tools and works of art by skilled blacksmiths and blacksmith students.
Swords to Plowshares VT, Inc. was established in 2023 following a public awareness event held in Brattleboro, Vermont, featuring Connecticut-based Swords to Plowshares, Northeast. Swords to Plowshares VT incorporated in January 2024 and is a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization with the Internal Revenue Service.
Leadership
Dorrie Degutis – President
Fred Breunig – Treasurer and Acting Secretary
Sheriff Mark Anderson – Board Member
Katie Allaway – Board Member
Markus Thessing – Board Member
Cliff Wood – Board Member
Swords to Plowshares VT is also supported by our volunteers and partners.
Our Partners
We work closely with the Vermont Windham County Sheriff’s Office and the Brattleboro Police Department. We have partnered with the blacksmith program The Putney School in Putney, Vermont.
Please consider inviting us to your Windham County-based school, faith community, or civic organization for a presentation and demonstration. We are happy to meet with you.
Putney School
In 2023 we teamed up with the Putney School’s Art Department sculpture and blacksmith teacher, Brian Quarrier, and his students. The school’s blacksmith shop consists of four anvils and four forges.
Brian and his students produced garden tools from the dismantled gun parts. Caleb, one of the metalworking students, crafted a unique sculpture from rifle barrels and other parts. The firearm parts provide a learning and creative opportunity for students. The transformed tools are given back to the community as another benefit. See pictures of the garden tools and Caleb’s sculpture in our photo gallery.
