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Success Stories

A mother and three daughters pose around a dining room table. There are lace curtains and blue wall in the background and some dishes on the table in the foreground.

“This is Home” – A Family Finds Their Forever Home in Calais, Maine

One of the first rooms Heather Gagne and her daughters began redecorating in their new home is the dining room, shown in the top photo. They have been busy repainting and making other updates. Raising a family in coastal Machias, Maine may sound lovely, but for Heather Gagne recent years proved stressful. There were few housing options in their Downeast community, and Heather was glad to find a rental home to…
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Use the filters below to find additional stories about how our programs have helped rural communities across the nation.

Search Results: 65 Stories
Native American ladies sitting in chairs, talking and smiling with each other.

Increasing Abundance with Native Communities Cooperative Development Training

Cooperatives are designed to meet the common economic, social, and cultural needs and aspirations of a group. Making sure the group’s values and cultural dynamics are honored is fundamental to successful cooperative development; this makes the co-op model attractive to many… [Read More]
CooperativesGrantsRural DevelopmentTribalUnderserved
Exterior photo of Shalyn Janis home

Creating A Haven for Native American Homeowners

The journey to homeownership is often filled with anxiety, unknowns, frustrations and eventually excitement as you move into your home. For Shalyn Janis, this journey began in 2018. She had been trying to buy a home for a while when she heard about USDA’s Native Relending,… [Read More]
HomeownershipHousingRural DevelopmentTribal
Smiling woman named Lisa Fensick standing in front of a new ambulance she helped obtain for her fire station.

Rural Healthcare Worker Lisa Fensick: An Everyday Hero Saving Lives

First responders are often on the front lines of health care, and their impact to rural communities has been immeasurable. For Lisa Fensick of Seaford, Delaware, this impact drove her desire to become a nationally registered Emergency Medical Technician (NREMT).  “I became… [Read More]
First RespondersHealth CareRural Development
Walworth County Care Center staff photo

Center Keeps Selby Citizens Safe

Nestled on Selby's eastern edge sits the Walworth County Care Center. The center originally opened in the 1960s and has served the area’s 5,300 residents for over six decades. But in 2018, the owners of the center deemed it unprofitable and notified staff the facility would be… [Read More]
Community FacilitiesHealth CareRural Development
USDA RD's ReConnect program helped Lindsay's family access high-speed internet

Home Telephone Company Rings up ReConnect Success in McClellanville, South Carolina

Lindsay is a working mother in McClellanville, South Carolina, and like many people living in rural communities, lacking access to reliable, high-speed internet used to be a challenge that affected her entire family.   “Especially when the kids came home from school,… [Read More]
BroadbandGrantsRural DevelopmentTelecommunications
Male and female sanding a floor.

Homeownership Becomes Reality Through Four Bands Community Fund, Rural Development

When Kim Lawrence of Eagle Butte set out to purchase a home, she knew there was work to be done. “I had very bad credit and student loans that had gone unpaid,” said Lawrence. “Before I could buy a house, I needed to clean up my credit, and Four Bands helped guide me along the… [Read More]
HomeownershipHousingRural DevelopmentTribalUnderserved
The Boys and Girls Club of the North Valley was able to purchase new tech equipment through Community Facilities program funding.

USDA Rural Development helps Boys and Girls Club in Oroville open new Teen Center

The Boys and Girls Club of the North Valley (BGCNV) fills a critical need in Oroville and surrounding communities, providing after-school social services and enrichment opportunities for low-income children and youth. About 79 percent of those served live below the poverty line… [Read More]
Community FacilitiesEducationGrantsRecreationRural Development
Vinita Domier, Officer Manger for California Center for Cooperative Development, goes over Co-op education material.

USDA Rural Development supports co-ops through partnership with California Center for Cooperative Development

The California Center for Cooperative Development (CCCD) plays an integral role in California. Cooperatives bring needed services to communities and are a source of empowerment for those who are often disempowered. Rural communities often lack the support services of larger… [Read More]
CooperativesRural Development
Members of the Real Pickle Co-op stand on the roof of the building next to the new solar panels on a sunny day. Many are wearing coats and it looks chilly outside.

Solar: It’s a “Big Dill” for Real Pickles Cooperative

As USDA Rural Development (RD) highlights National Cooperative Month, one worker owned co-op in Massachusetts stands out as a model for sustainability, collaboration, and local food system resiliency. The saying goes “it’s not easy being green.” But for Real Pickles in… [Read More]
CooperativesEnergyLocal FoodsLocal ProduceREAPRenewable EnergyRural DevelopmentSustainable/Organic Foods
Orangeburg opened an updated library thanks to USDA RD

New library fuels economic development for rural Orangeburg community

For many people across the U.S., local libraries serve as a vessel for community and economic development. But residents in Orangeburg County, South Carolina, went without an updated local library for several years, and the effects were felt throughout the community. But… [Read More]
BusinessCommunity FacilitiesRural DevelopmentUnderserved

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