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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
Three people standing next to a sign that say S.P.O.T.

Rural Business Development Grant and Nonprofit Boost Local Businesses

Peñasco, a small mountain town in northern New Mexico, sits along the High Road to Taos, a scenic byway in the beautiful Sangre de Cristo Mountains. Despite its small size, Peñasco offers a surprising amount to the area. The town enjoys a variety of restaurants and businesses… [Read More]
Local FoodsSmall BusinessUnderserved
An illustration of I.V. Hope Village housing. I.V. Hope Village is a transitional living project in Cave Junction, OR designed to increase the number of affordable housing options.

It Takes a Village: Building Hope in Southern Oregon

A strong community must have affordable housing. The lack of affordable or available housing in Cave Junction, Oregon, has led to a housing crisis that has affected the people of this small, rural community within the Illinois Valley. Unpredictable wildfires and a major shift… [Read More]
Community FacilitiesHomeownership 2024HousingUnderserved
Man stands next to farm equipment

USDA Grant Helps Rancher Make Hay While the Sun Shines

Peñasco, New Mexico is the kind of place where everyone knows everyone, and a lot of people have multiple jobs in the community. It’s the kind of place where you might go into an automotive shop and end up talking to the local water association vice president. Ivan Roybal,… [Read More]
Small BusinessUnderserved
Four women and one man sit at tables in a large room with a USDA banner in the background.

New Capacity for Sunrise County: USDA Helps Meet Business Needs

When team at the Sunrise County Economic Council (SCEC) polled area businesses, they heard a consistent message. Asked what they needed to thrive, business owners made it clear. They were looking for more training opportunities and resources right in the community. Washington… [Read More]
BusinessEconomic DevelopmentGrantsUnderserved
Two men and two women stand in front of a snow grooming machine in a snowy field under a blue sky. They are dressed warmly, and there are leafless trees in the background.

Slam Dunk for Poodunck: Safer, Eco-friendly Trail Grooming Machine

December 13, 2023, was a happy day for the members of the Poodunck Snowmobile Club in Dixfield, Maine. That day they took delivery of their new trail grooming machine. The massive new Prinoth machine is state-of the art, replacing the club’s fifteen-year-old equipment. Trail… [Read More]
RecreationUnderserved
With the assistance of a $113 thousand USDA Rural Development Community Facilities Grant, The Pamlico Rose Institute is helping female Veterans by promoting wellness and building resilience through their various programs, activities and events. Rural Development’s investment was used to restore The Barn. This structure is being used for community events and workshops including woodworking, visual arts, crafts and yoga classes.

Rural Development Assisting Female Vets Down East

Tucked away off the main throughfare in Washington, North Carolina, The Pamlico Rose Institute, with the assistance of USDA Rural Development, is helping female Veterans by promoting wellness and building resilience through their various… [Read More]
Underserved
A group of adults sit in a community meeting room, listening to a speaker. Several members of the audience have their hands raised to ask a question.

USDA Rural Development Helps Rural School District Provide More than Education to Communities

In the heart of California’s San Joaquin Valley lies a remote area sparsely dotted with unincorporated towns. Each town is small, where most of the residents are Latino farmworkers and low-income, and where community resources are limited. In lieu of a local government, the… [Read More]
Community FacilitiesEducationTechnologyUnderserved
Roberts County patrol cruiser parked outside Sheriff's Department.

Equipment upgrades improve response, community relations in Roberts County

When Deputy Trevor Mishler was hired by Roberts County Sheriff's Department, there weren’t enough patrol cruisers to go around and some of the equipment being used by deputies was outdated and past its serviceable life. The Sheriff and county staff gave the deputy the green… [Read More]
Community FacilitiesFirst RespondersRural DevelopmentUnderserved
Bob and Mary Ann Volk outside their remodeled home in Herreid, SD.

Herreid Homes Have New Hope After Rehab

Bob and Mary Ann have lived in the same home for over 55 years. The couple raised their six children here and they all attended the same school in Herreid. But over the years the home has needed updates and eventually those updates were too difficult for Bob and Mary Ann to take… [Read More]
Home RepairHomeownershipHomeownership Month 2023HousingUnderserved
Milani Pimental and her family

Rural Development Helped Her Own a Home: She's Now Kauai's Habitat for Humanity Executive Director

Twenty-two years ago, Milani Pimental and her husband built their home in Kalaheo, Kauai with the help of Kauai Habitat for Humanity and the Single Family Housing Direct Home Loan, also known as the Section 502 Direct Loan Program, through USDA Rural Development (RD). The… [Read More]
GrantsHomeownership Month 2023Underserved

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