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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: 34 Stories
Roxanne visits with guests during homeownership event

Partnerships help ease financial burden for homeowners

The stress of buying a home is common for many people. It’s likely the biggest and most important purchase we make in our lifetimes. Yet for many Americans, the financial burden may make that purchase unreachable. Rural Development housing programs offer a variety of options to… [Read More]
GrantsHomeownership Month 2023Underserved
Community meets to discuss creating a home care cooperative in their community

Home Care Cooperative Training Meets Pressing Need in Rural Nebraska

It started with a simple phone call. A few years ago, a woman contacted Cindy Houlden, the Cooperative Business Director at the Nebraska Cooperative Development Center, with a question about home care cooperative job opportunities. At the time, Houlden and her team were not… [Read More]
CooperativesGrantsHealth CareUnderserved
Leaders from USDA Rural Development and Sen. Murkowski's office break ground for the Chugachmiut Regional Health Center.

USDA Rural Development celebrates Chugachmiut Regional Health Center groundbreaking

USDA Rural Development Alaska State Director Julia Hnilicka attended a groundbreaking ceremony for the Chugachmiut Regional Health Center in Seward, Alaska, Saturday, June 3. The occasion marked the start of construction of the $20 million facility. “The past three years really… [Read More]
Community FacilitiesGrantsHealth CareInfrastructureRural DevelopmentTribalUnderserved
Cora Suzette Lee on the front porch of her new home.

Rebuilding a Family and Community Legacy in Northampton County

While Virginia’s Eastern Shore is known for its majestic sunsets, beaches and rural country living, a short drive off the main roads of Northampton County reveals a persistent poverty area dotted with aging homes that residents have little or no means to repair. Many properties… [Read More]
HomeownershipHomeownership Month 2023HousingUnderserved
Group photo of new borrowers and Piedmont Habitat for Humanity team

Packaging Purchases AND Production to Put More Virginia Families into New Homes

Who doesn’t love breaking open a fortune cookie to find the hidden message inside? The vague prophesies are more fun than fact but intriguing, nonetheless. In Farmville, Va., Piedmont Habitat for Humanity is turning that concept on its head by putting two sturdily constructed… [Read More]
HomeownershipHomeownership Month 2023HousingUnderserved
Smiling woman, Latanya Moultry, holding a wreath after closing on her new home.

Despite Hardships, Widowed Mother of 3 Attains Homeownership

Latanya Moultry was devastated when her husband, Quinten, passed away suddenly at home after being diagnosed with COVID earlier that day in March 2021. She had been a loving wife and stay-at-home mom caring for her son with autism. Overnight, she became the head of the household… [Read More]
HomeownershipHousingUnderserved
A sunny industrial kitchen with equipment, a hood over a range, and ovens.

With RAIN Catalysts, Oregon Entrepreneurs Shine

Though their businesses may be small, rural entrepreneurs play a big role in the nation’s economic development and prosperity. They create local jobs, revitalize Main Streets, and enrich their communities. With every open sign and website launch, these intrepid innovators bring… [Read More]
EntrepreneurSmall BusinessUnderserved
Workers at the Arc Bakery making their cookie

Creating Community, Awareness, and Cookies With the Arc

More than 67 years ago, parents came together to advocate for their children living with intellectual and development disabilities (IDD) who were not welcome in public schools. The Arc was born out of this effort, becoming a nonprofit dedicated to supporting individuals living… [Read More]
GrantsSmall BusinessUnderserved
Webb Farm Solar

Humboldt Community REAPs the Benefit of Webb Farm Solar

Located in rural Humboldt, Tennessee, Mr. Aaron Webb of Webb Farm Solar Systems Inc., owns and operates a minority owned solar farm. This farm has been in operation since 2012, with Photo-Voltaic (PV) Solar Systems on several farm properties.  It was in 2019, when Webb… [Read More]
EnergyGrantsREAPSolar EnergyUnderserved
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

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