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: 31 Stories
A Modern Tale of Scale, Written by REAP
“We are not the first to sugar here,” says Kate Goyette of Sweet Bear Farm in Corinth, “but we do it differently than they did.” She nods at a rusted boiling arch on an ancient stone foundation, saplings and soil consuming the twisted metal in a relentless march of decades that… [Read More]
Vermont and New Hampshire
Castleton Library Goes Vertical to Serve the Entire Community
The Castleton Free Library (CFL) in Castleton, Vermont is a beloved historic institution that serves its community far beyond the conventional role of book repository. By collaborating with other libraries throughout the region, the staff takes a proactive approach to expanding… [Read More]
Vermont and New Hampshire
Winooski Breaks Ground on Downtown Revitalization Project
The City of Winooski has undertaken a whole-street reconstruction project thanks to more than $20 million from USDA Rural Development Community Programs. Focusing on roughly 4,000 feet of the city's corridor from Interstate I-89 into downtown, the reconstruction will include… [Read More]
Vermont and New Hampshire
Bellows Falls Fire Department Receives Clear, Consistent Comms
The town of Rockingham in eastern Vermont includes the villages of Bellows Falls and Saxtons River, little but lively hubs of activity lending their special brand of hardboiled New England character to the rich cultural history of the Connecticut River. Though separated by only… [Read More]
Vermont and New Hampshire
Start.Coop Launches Market-Ready Start-Ups by Scaling Out
Cooperatives for a Better World, a Manchester, NH, nonprofit known as Start.Coop, knows that there is no easy path to entrepreneurship. Its innovators—using extensive backgrounds in education, housing, agriculture, finance, social justice and other essential sectors that thrive… [Read More]
Vermont and New Hampshire
Mass Timber Takes Off at the Fairbanks Museum & Planetarium
Since Naturalist Franklin Fairbanks opened the doors of the Fairbanks Museum in St. Johnsbury, Vermont in 1891, it has been a popular place of learning and wonder for thousands of visitors. In 1961, the Museum built the state’s first public planetarium, and in 2018 began a… [Read More]
Vermont and New Hampshire
Essential Storage Expansion Helps Food Connects Create More Capacity
Food Connects is a Brattleboro, VT-based nonprofit that ‘builds healthy families, thriving farms, and connected communities’ by delivering regional food and providing educational and consulting services aimed at transforming the local food system. The organization has grown… [Read More]
Vermont and New Hampshire