NRDP-CNS Partnerships
Here are some of the successful partnerships that State Councils have had
with the Corporation for National Service. For more information, please contact
Rick Wetherill in the Office of
Community Development, USDA-RD.
Through the 30-member Americorps*VISTA rural team it implements, the Florida State Rural Development Council completed several activities in November 2000. Americorps*VISTA is a federal program that provides full-time volunteers to thousands of low-income communities nationwide to address problems defined by those communities. FSRDC team members provide community/resource development assistance to rural communities and non-profit organizations statewide. Host site organizations provide office space and access to phones and computers and identify resources and training for VISTA team members so they can achieve project goals and objectives. Representative activities recently completed include:
- Assisted in the planning and coordination of the Vernon Historic Society's 2nd Annual Fall Festival, which attracted over one thousand visitors and community residents into the Vernon area;
- Participated in 25 ribbon cuttings and grand openings of new businesses in Washington County;
- Organized and conducted two computer literacy classes for local residents in Calhoun County;
- Met with three local business owners in Calhoun County to determine needs and organized a local area network (LAN) for use in expanding quality business assistance services to community residents;
- Completed and posted an educational web site on the Panhandle Pioneer Settlement
- Serving as a liaison between Washington County Emergency Management and Panhandle Area Chapter of American Red Cross to get disaster shelters designated and certified for use within the Washington County area;
- Scheduling and coordinating meetings to recruit and train new Red Cross volunteers in cooperation with the Washington County Chamber of Commerce;
- Initiating start-up activities to establish a Washington County Heritage Theme Park and Annual Founders Day Festival and Parade in the Vernon area. This project will depict the history and growth of Washington County from the early 1800s to the present day.
The New Hampshire Rural Development Council is co-sponsoring with the University of New Hampshire-Cooperative Extension (UNH-CE) and the Corporation for National Service (AmeriCorps/Vista) a program to deploy Community Support Teams statewide. Designed to complement UNH-CE's community profiles, this initiative provides needed follow-up to the issue identification and goal setting processes of the community profile.
