Amidst the winding roads and one stoplight towns of South Jersey, one mother’s story can be told through determination and dreams fulfilled. Born and raised in this rural corner of the Garden State, her path to achieving this lifelong dream required challenges, resilience, and a touch of fortune.

Affordable housing is a prominent issue throughout the country, and with home values rising faster than incomes, city officials are looking for solutions to address the affordability gap. The City of Alexandria is one step closer to bridging this gap by breaking ground on Summer Meadows, an affordable housing development made possible by a partnership between the city and Habitat for Humanity of Douglas County.

In 2021, USDA Rural Development in Pennsylvania partnered with Schwenksville Borough to turn their former firehouse into a borough hall and community center.

The Borough utilized the USDA RD Community Facilities program with a low-interest loan to renovate the property to meet their community’s needs. The facility represents the completion of the borough complex, part of long-standing revitalization goals reflected in the borough’s 2017 “Main Street Schwenksville Streetscape Plan and Design Guidelines.”

Transitioning to renewable energy or committing to significant energy efficiency improvements requires major investments of time and capital for a business. It helps to have a trusted advisor to navigate the process. In October 2023, USDA Rural Development in Maine announced three grant awards to help provide that kind of trusted advising in Maine. The program is called REAP TAG, and Sustaine (with a Maine office in Skowhegan) secured one of the grants.

They may not be quite as colorful as their counterparts from the acclaimed 1989 film, but the women behind the Theatre Guild of Buchanan County are “Steel Magnolias” in their own right with a fierce commitment to lifting up their community and providing an artistic outlet for its youth.

Rural communities across Maine may share many of the same goals, but collaboration can be difficult when they are separated by great distance and challenging roads. What’s more, small towns often have lean staffs, making it especially hard to make time for strategic planning.

How RBDG Transformed ECC's HVAC Program 

By Sierra Rusco

Brian Watson, HVAC Program Coordinator at East Central College in Union, Missouri, is passionate about teaching. With his career in the HVAC industry, Brian finds it essential to give his students the best education possible to prepare them for their careers. When he saw something missing in his curriculum, he made the ECC administration aware of the need.

Since 1997 Town & Country Supply Association merged with two other cooperatives to provide high quality fertilizer products and on-site services at competitive prices to Montana’s farmers and ranchers. The rural community of Lockwood, Montana, is home to Town & Country’s Mega Fertilizer Plant. At this plant, members of the agricultural cooperative can order custom aggregated fertilizer to match their personalized needs. However, the plant’s success quickly outgrew its capacity for raw materials.

In the neighborhood of Mount Holly, New Jersey, amidst leafy streets and usually friendly faces, resides Antonia Santos, a spirited retiree with a knack for do-it-yourself projects. Her story intertwines perseverance, a few helping hands, and a work ethic that can’t be disrupted.

Originally from the Dominican Republic, Ms. Santos has traversed the globe, calling places like Florida and Costa Rica home before settling in New Jersey for a second time.