"In 1975, I graduated law school and moved with my wife Christie to her home state of Iowa. We chose Mount Pleasant, a town of about 8,000 people in the southeast part of the State, and it was during this early time in my career, as a private citizen, that I first saw how people in small towns and rural places work together to move their communities forward.
Mount Pleasant had a youth athletic facility that was in desperate need of repair, and time and time again, the City Council refused to pass a bond bill to pay for what was needed. So my neighbors and I took matters into our own hands, holding a radio pledge drive and raising over $200,000 in just a few days. We were still short of the funds we needed, so in true Iowa fashion, others stepped up.
Local businesses donated funds and supplies, while community members volunteered their time on nights and weekends to do the repairs themselves. Soon enough, Mount Pleasant had a beautiful new athletic facility for our children and our children’s children to enjoy. Through this experience, I came to understand that when communities come together around a common goal, the sky is the limit.
President Obama understands this too. The time he spent as an organizer on the South Side of Chicago taught him that more often than not, lasting change starts at the community level, and grows from the ground up. He has advanced a new approach to Federal engagement with local communities, moving away from an outdated, one-size-fits-all approach toward a more tailored model that is directed by the community’s vision, leverages local assets and responds to specific barriers. This approach has driven our work with rural communities. Over the course of this Administration, we’ve collaborated with rural leaders across the country to provide targeted Federal resources that advance their communities’ goals."
—Secretary Vilsack
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