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Success Stories

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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: 37 Stories
In 2015 USDA Rural Development invested $40,000 to help a nonprofit purchase a new sport utility vehicle and trailer to transport equipment and personnel.

Health in the Hills

In the medically underserved central Appalachian Mountains a much-needed healthful vehicle has been navigating the winding tree-lined roads since 1980. Known as the Health Wagon, today this mobile health unit visits eleven sites in Virginia’s Buchanan, Dickenson, Russell, Lee,… [Read More]

Hunger Takes No Vacation

Most students look forward to summer vacation with anticipation of relaxing and having fun, but many students don’t have that luxury because when the school year ends their next healthy meal isn’t guaranteed. In fact, more than 21 million students in the United States depend on… [Read More]
White Stone, Va.

Looking Forward in White Stone

Picturesque White Stone, Va., sits on a gateway to the state’s Northern Neck at the junction of the Rappahannock River and the Chesapeake Bay. It is a town with enormous economic potential, but in the center of town at The River Market during a recent lunchtime rush, owner Jim… [Read More]
[From left to right] Grottoes Volunteer Fire Department board members Jeff Morris, Captain CJ Chandler and Assistant Chief Chandler Hardy pictured in front of fire protection equipment purchased with the help of a $50,000 USDA Rural Development grant.

Pride in a department, pride in a community

Nostalgia filled the Grottoes Volunteer Fire Department (GVFD) training room recently as four lifetime members reminisced about how far the department has come in 94 years. The department’s history - stemming back to 1922 even before its incorporation in 1948 - shows that it’s… [Read More]

Rural Development helps Virginia’s Eastern Shore plan for the future

As director of planning for Accomack-Northampton Planning District Commission, Curtis Smith hoped the last week in October would be the start of a data-driven process to develop innovative ideas for economic development on Virginia’s Eastern Shore. The outcome more… [Read More]
In 2015 USDA Rural Development worked with the town of Appomattox to fund a loan for $3.7 million and a grant for $1.8 million. The financial assistance allowed Appomattox to begin making vital repairs on its outdated sewer collection and treatment system

Sewer Repairs in Appomattox

When the town of Appomattox began inspecting its sewer collection and treatment system, which provides service to approximately 695 residential and 70 commercial connections, it found problems that were contributing to raw sewage overflows, incompliance with state code and… [Read More]

USDA loan unites school district

The 2015-2016 school year is the beginning of a new era for thousands of students in Dickenson County, Va. When they walked through the doors on the first day of classes in August, the students became members of the Ridgeview High School and Middle School Wolfpack. Before this… [Read More]