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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: 22 Stories
football2

St. Helena College and Career Academy: Touchdown Loan

St. Helena College and Career Academy in rural Greensburg, Louisiana is home to the Mighty Hawks. In the small parish of 11,000, football is one of the main ways that the community comes together, and St. Helena is their only public high school. But, St. Helena's previous… [Read More]
Community FacilitiesEducationRecreation
Native American statue on IAIA Campus

Advancing Artistic Expression

The Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) is located just a few miles southwest of Santa Fe, New Mexico. Located on 140 acres in Santa Fe it is arguably one of the best locations in the state for an art school. To put it simply the place is inspiring. The campus is in a… [Read More]
Community FacilitiesEducationTribal
Student manually developing 3D design at Lake Country Advanced Knowledge Center, a process that takes days - or even weeks.

Community Excels in Engineering

What happens when businesses are eager to hire local employees, but an equally eager workforce lacks the necessary skills for employment? A stalemate. South Hill and its surrounding region have suffered this dilemma for the last five years with an unemployment rate ranging from… [Read More]
Community FacilitiesEducation
Quest Montessori School

Funding to Help the Expansion of Rural School

Providing necessary and quality education in rural communities is important to create ladders of opportunity for the future generations. Following up on this mission, in 2009 USDA Rural Development gave the Quest Montessori School a $2.4 million Community Facilities loan to… [Read More]
Community FacilitiesEducation
USDA funds Greenhouse Cape Cod

Funds Help Build Greenhouse for Nauset Regional Middle School

The Nauset Regional Middle School in Cape Cod, Massachusetts currently has a three-year-old seasonal greenhouse that complements an indoor wet lab where fish and plants are grown. Currently, students are only able to use the greenhouse for a small part of the school year as the… [Read More]
Community FacilitiesEducation
Pine Ridge Indian Reservation sign

It's All About the Connections

In rural South Dakota, tribal members often lack access to higher education courses and facilities.  Students living on the 1,900-square-mile Rosebud Indian Reservation and the 11,000-square-mile Oglala Lakota Sioux Indian Reservation, for instance, struggle to travel long… [Read More]
EducationTribal

Math & Science Building Gives Students New Opportunities

Lincoln Memorial University (LMU), founded in 1897 as a living memorial to Abraham Lincoln, is striving to rewrite the narrative of Appalachia in the Cumberland Gap of rural Northeastern Tennessee.  LMU recognized a rapidly growing need to expand its math and science… [Read More]
Community FacilitiesEducation

Oglala Lakota College Administers Educational Opportunities With Support from USDA

Schools in South Dakota play a vital role in educating and preparing future generations for postsecondary education and careers.  An expansion of the educational outcomes for American Indian students across the state focuses on Tribal Colleges.  Providing necessary and… [Read More]
EducationTribal
Oglala Lakota College Success Story

Oglala Lakota College Partners with USDA Rural Development to Deliver Services

Oglala Lakota College (OLC) partnered with  USDA Rural Development in 2015 to enhance program accessibility in underserved rural areas and communities.  Through a coordinated effort, workshops were held in three reservation communities to provide information and… [Read More]
EducationTribal
Red Cloud Indian School

Our Lady of Lourdes Provides Foundational Skills and Oh So Much More

It was a special day for the students at the Our Lady of Lourdes, OLL, K- 8th grade school in Porcupine, SD as it was their last day before Thanksgiving break and many of their parents had joined them for lunch.  It was fun to see the students excited about the holidays and… [Read More]
EducationTribal

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