In Greenville, South Carolina, Feed & Seed Co. is on a mission to serve farmers and families through a sustainable local food system. Their multi-purpose facility – located in Greenville County’s most food-insecure zip code – acts as a one-stop shop for both food entrepreneurs…

What started as an after-school urban gardening program has since blossomed into Grow Ohio Valley (Grow OV), an operation with around 50 employees working toward a single mission: improve the health and economic future of Wheeling, West Virginia through local food. It’s a great mission…

In KY, PA, VA, and WV, ARC partners are building trails and tourism experiences.

Since 2015, ARC’s POWER Initiative has invested millions in projects working to create jobs, fuel new industries, and prepare workers and students for new opportunities in coal-impacted communities. The largest POWER funding package to date was awarded in October 2022, with particular momentum for one emerging sector: local food. …

High-speed broadband will be expanded to 300 unserved households.

In September 2021, Frostburg State University received the state of Maryland’s first-ever ARC POWER implementation grant. The $1,480,979 award helped continue the development of the Advanced Technology Center at Frostburg’s Innovation Park, which works to strengthen Western Maryland’s economy by creating new job opportunities…

WSCC prepares students for the future automotive industry.

Nestled in Northeast Tennessee, Johnson and Carter counties have strengths and challenges similar to many other Appalachian communities. Their location offers rich culture and easy access to outdoor adventures in “mountain and lake country.” However, the mountainous geography has also resulted in limited access to transportation, housing, and other critical…

When Kevin Simmers lost his daughter Brooke to an opioid overdose in 2015, he knew he needed to honor her legacy by carrying out her dream: opening a transitional house for women recovering from substance use disorder. He and his wife, Dana, broke ground on Brooke’s House three years…

In West Virginia, Libera, Inc. is working to help women and teens embody the state’s beloved motto, “montani semper liberi,” or “mountaineers are always free.” Named for the feminine form of the word “liberi,” Libera envisions a Mountain State where every woman and teen is free…

In 1980, Fahe was founded to provide access to workforce training and financial resources for locally-rooted nonprofit organizations. Its founding members quickly learned they could “go further together,” and has since grown into a strong network of 50+ nonprofits from six states working toward a…

The Kentucky Wildlands is driving economic development and regional tourism across 14,000-square-miles of “largely untamed wilderness.”…

Since 1974, JARI has supported the economic growth and diversification of Pennsylvania’s Southern Alleghenies region. Their service area in Greater Johnstown, Pennsylvania historically relied on the steel and coal industries, and like other Appalachian communities needed to diversify its local and regional economic bases to improve long-term vitality.  In order to best carry out its…

When Will Bright passed away in 2014 from an overdose, his mother, Lisa Bright, knew she had to turn her pain into purpose. She and her husband, Bill, started the Will Bright Foundation to both honor their son and provide others with a safe, supportive environment for their recovery…

UK Landscape Architecture rendering of River Fog Park (Image courtesy of Why Whitley Facebook) In 2018 in Whitley County, Kentucky, a group of passionate citizens held a dinner to discuss ways to change the narrative surrounding the community. There were so many things to be proud of within the county,…