Rural LISC Works with E*TRADE to Grow Rural Virginia Network

8.18.2017 — Press Releases

Rural LISC is pleased to announce that, thanks to the support of E*TRADE and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), it has increased the reach of its network with the addition of four new community-based organizations (CBOs) in Virginia!

The new CBOs include:

Helping Overcome Poverty's Existence, Inc. (HOPE);
Southside Outreach Group, Inc.;
People, Inc.; and
Appalachian Community Action & Development Agency, Inc. (AppCAA).

“We found these organizations to be exceptional in their work with affordable housing, economic development, workforce development and more,” said Rural LISC Vice President Suzanne Anarde. “These Partners represent diverse geographies and opportunities. Bringing them into the Rural LISC network allows us to make our resources, including grants, loans and peer-networking, available to these rural Partners as well as their communities.”

HOPE, for example, is a human services organization providing tools to build community sustainability and independence. Founded in 1993, they reduce the conditions contributing to poverty in southwest Virginia, in Wythe, Bland, Carroll, Grayson and Smyth counties. Affordable housing, including homelessness prevention, is among HOPE’s top programs.

Southside Outreach Group is a Certified Housing Development Organization (CHDO) Housing provider located in South Boston, Virginia. Their mission is to assist income eligible persons in obtaining affordable, safe, decent and sanitary housing. Programs include affordable homeownership opportunities, homebuyer education and home repair. Southside reports they have not had a foreclosure since 2006, before the most recent financial crisis hit. They currently serve Amelia, Amherst, Appomattox, Brunswick, Campbell, Charlotte, Cumberland, Dinwiddie, Emporia, Halifax, Lunenburg, Mecklenburg, Nottoway, Pittsylvania and Prince Edward counties.

People, Inc. traces its roots back to 1964 when community members started what was then known as the Hayter’s Gap Community Club to provide education, recreation and day care for residents in a rural area along the northern border of Washington County, Virginia. The organization was soon charted as one of the nation's first Community Action Agencies, designated to serve low income people throughout Washington County and the neighboring city of Bristol. People Incorporated of Virginia grew to become one of the Commonwealth of Virginia’s largest and most successful Community Action Agencies. It now serves Buchanan, Clarke, Culpeper, Dickenson, Fauquier, Frederick, Page, Prince William, Rappahannock, Russell, Shenandoah, Warren and Washington counties. Throughout its long history and to this day, the agency has worked to achieve the same mission: To provide opportunities for economically disadvantaged people to improve their lives, their families and their communities.

Appalachian Community Action & Development Agency (AppCAA) also started in 1964 as a Community Action Agency and now offers more than 20 programs focused on the areas of business and economic development, children’s programs, housing and community solutions, volunteer programs and emergency services. Each program fits into a web of services designed to help individuals and families at every stage of life, from locating the best child care center and promoting early childhood literacy in the Hungry for Reading program to assisting elderly neighbors so they can age gracefully in place. AppCAA now serves Bland, Buchanan, Dickenson, Grayson, Lee, Russell, Scott, Smyth, Tazewell, Washington, Wise and Wythe counties.

The Rural LISC Partner application process is highly competitive, built around a time-tested and comprehensive body of criteria. In this most recent expansion of the Rural LISC program into the state of Virginia, Rural LISC identified HOPE, Southside Outreach Group, People, Inc. and AppCAA from a pool of nine applications.

“These organizations embody what it means to be a Rural LISC Partner,” Anarde said. “From developing affordable housing projects to serving meals through a ‘pay what you can’ kitchen, they work every day to make a better life for residents of the communities they serve.”

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