Links and Articles
Our Shared Fate
Bridging the rural-urban divide creates new opportunities for prosperity and equality. Major economic, demographic, and environmental changes are compelling American policymakers to seek new ways to frame problems and develop strategies to ensure equity, prosperity, and sustainability into the future. Click here to download the PDF and read more.
Free book from Harwood Institute for Public Innovation
Here’s a free, very timely, book brought to you from the Harwood Institute for Public Innovation. Click Here to Read
How does hope effect civic engagement and vitality in your community?
First Oregon Rural Congress Follow UP
“Rural Oregonians were feeling tramped on, abused and ignored. But instead of just complaining, they decided to get together.” Reads the Daily Yonder byline about the First Oregon Rural Congress. Read the full article here at Daily Yonder Online
ONABEN Indianpreneurship training
In 2005 ONABEN A Native American Business Network unveiled our first Indianpreneurship® curriculum, A Native American Journey into Business. Indianpreneurship has been adopted by over 35 tribal organizations, including many tribal colleges. We designed this culturally relevant course for Native entrepreneurs who want to start their own business, assisting students with an easy-to-use manual. The text guides students through a step-by-step process providing the tools for written business and marketing plans and helping to develop the skills and confidence to accomplish their entrepreneurial goals. Indianpreneurship website
Help Take Care of Oregon!
Oregon’s 150th birthday, February 14, 2009, is fast approaching. When future residents look back to see how Oregonians remembered this important anniversary, what will they find? We’d like them to see the state’s largest volunteer event ever!
That’s why Oregon 150 has commissioned SOLV, Rural Development Initiatives and Oregon Volunteers to create Take Care of Oregon Days. We are looking for hundreds of volunteer leaders to plan events on and around May 16. If you have a community project in mind, please click here and follow the links to Take Care of Oregon Days. We will help you plan and publicize the project, and include it in the calendar of events so that volunteers can find you.
Never planned a volunteer project? Consider attending one of our Volunteer Action Training sessions being offered around the state and online.
Here are a few of the kinds of projects you could plan:
Recycling programs
Storm drain stenciling
Litter or illegal dumpsite cleanup
Graffiti removal
Providing for those in need of social services
Natural area or beautification plantings
Trail repair and development
Park repair or amenities
Community gardens
Invasive and non-native plant removal
Wildlife habitat enhancement (nest boxes, plantings, nest area protection)
Mural development
Community theatre restoration
School grounds improvements
Cage cleanup at an animal shelter
Dog walking
Pet food drive
Quilts for hospitals or nursing homes
Community food drive
Coat or school supplies drive
Book collection for the public library
Resources, including small grants for projects that sign up early, are available. So please think about a project that will help commemorate Oregon’s history while improving Oregon for today!
Free Volunteer Action Trainings Offered in Oregon and Online Through January for Oregon 150
Oregon 150, the state’s sesquicentennial organization, has commissioned SOLV, Rural Development Initiatives and Oregon Volunteers to create Take Care of Oregon Days, the largest volunteer event in history, on or around May 16, 2009.
To prepare for this event, the Take Care of Oregon Team is training hundreds of people to learn how to plan and manage a volunteer community event. We are conducting 30 FREE hands-on Volunteer Action Trainings around the state, where you will learn how to:
• Plan a project from start to finish
• Recruit and work with volunteers
• Approach and work with the media
• Approach and work with sponsors and donors
Sign up online or by phone: 1-800-333-7658
Volunteer Action Training Schedule:
(time and place located online)
September 11 — Baker City---Community Meeting
September 16 — Salem
September 17 — McMinnville
September 18 — Dallas
September 18 — Milton-Freewater---Community Meeting
September 24 — Arlington
September 25 — La Grande---Community Meeting
October 2 — Hermiston---Community Meeting
October 3 — Webinar
October 10 — Lincoln City
Ocotber 14 — Albany
October 16 — Corvallis
October 17 — Roseburg
October 21 — Milton-Freewater
October 28 — Hood River
October 30 — Cave Junction
November 1 — Baker City
November 4 — Medford
November 4 — Grants Pass
November 5 — Webinar
November 7 — Astoria
November 18 — Klamath Falls
December 9 — Webinar
January 13 — Webinar
TBD — Lane County
TBD — Lakeview
If you are already proficient in Volunteer Project Management, spread the word and invite the next generation of leaders.
*Please note* You do NOT have to attend a training to sign up for a TCO project! We know many of you are already volunteer superstars!
Want more information? Contact us at or by phone: 1-800-333-7658
Make Hope Real in Your Community
What does it take to create meaningful change and authentic hope in a community? Rich Harwood outlines our role in building strong communities and what it takes to Make Hope Real. Rich is making free copies of this essay available to RDI members. I’ve read it, and shared it with others, and encourage you to do the same. Order a free copy today.
To read more about this you can go to The Harwood Institute for Public Innovation by clicking here.
Oregon Arts Commission Grant Announcement
The Oregon Arts Commission has announced its Arts Recognition grants. Arts Recognition grants are $1,000 awards made to exemplary arts organizations that have a record of excellence in programming, service, and organizational capacity, but have not received other Arts Commission funding. Deadlines are September 11, 2008 and January 15, 2009. Call Shannon Planchon at (503) 229-6062 or click here for more information.
Study Looks at How Differences in Rural America Impact Rural Policy
The Carsey Institute conducted a study that looks at how the diversity of Rural America contributes to the complexity of developing effective rural policy. Residents were surveyed from rural counties around the country, including Clatsop County, Oregon.
Click here to read the study, Challenges and Opportunities in Four Rural Americas, in its entirety.
Oregon State University Study Examines the Impact of Lost Federal Forest Payments
The Oregon State University Rural Studies Program recently completed a study which looks at the loss of federal forest payments and the impact on public services.
Click here to read the study, Oregon Secure Rural Schools Study-2008.
Powell, Wyoming Launches Fiber-Optic Network
Residents in Powell, Wyoming got a chance to sample Powellink, the under-construction fiber-optic system that will offer extreme-high-speed telecommunication services to every home and business in town.
City officials and representatives from the initial service provider, TCT, answered questions and demonstrated technology during the afternoon open house, and many on hand said Powellink is a major benchmark in the town’s development.
Click here to read more of the Billings Gazette article.
Uniting Cultures in Rural Tennessee
When an art project in rural Tennessee combines the visions of youth—local teenagers and the children of migrant workers—everybody’s the wiser. The Weekly Yonder, a publication of the Center for Rural Strategies, reports on how teenagers light the way across ethnic borders in Tennessee.
Rural America has a reputation as the land of Anglo-only residents, of folks who lack culture in part because they’ve never known people of different ethnic backgrounds. That assumption’s wrong, and Telamon’s Youth Initiative in rural Tennessee is proving it.
Click here to read more of Lauren Linn’s article, Teenage Photographers: Migration of the Minds.
Different Perspectives on Rural High Schools
The Weekly Yonder, a publication of the Center for Rural Strategies, takes a look at two different perspectives on rural schooling.
Why are rural high school grads less likely to go on to college? Maybe, it’s that most rural schools don’t challenge students with college-level work. Lauren Linn finds schools in rural states lag behind in offering college-prep courses. Click here to read the article, Lack of AP Courses Holds Rural Students Back.
Educators may see one future: Go to college and leave home. Rural students often envision different ways to live. Caitlin Howley describes how a place-based curriculum can teach students to give back to their communities. Click here to read the article, Rural Education and the ‘Bigger Picture.’
Embattled Rural Groceries in Kansas Band Together to Survive
Most Kansas “cities” have fewer than 1,500 residents, all wanting a local market when they want it. Who’s minding the store and how can they hang on? Marci Penner decided to visit every one of the 627 incorporated cities in Kansas, with the goal of finding intriguing places, but she also came across problems that were common from town to town. One of the most pressing was the plight of local grocery stores.
2009 Youth Garden Grants Program
The National Gardening Association and The Home Depot announce the 2009 Youth Garden Grants Program. The National Gardening Association awards garden grants to schools and community organizations with child-centered garden programs. In evaluating grant applications, priority will be given to programs that emphasize one or more of the following elements: educational focus or curricular/program integration; nutrition or plant-to-food connections; environmental awareness/education; entrepreneurship; and social aspects of gardening such as leadership development, team building, community support, or service-learning. Ford Institute Leadership Program classes often have a community garden as a first or second choice project. Click here to find out more information about this grant opportunity.
RURAL DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVES
2620 River Road, Suite 205 . Eugene, Oregon 97404 . phone 541-684-9077 . fax 541-684-8993