The Resource Assistance for Rural Environments (RARE) AmeriCorps program at the University of Oregon, built to increase the capacity of rural communities in improving their economic, social, and environmental conditions, connects community needs with personal and professional resources to do just that.
This partnership is forged by pairing RARE Americorp members, who are graduate level students, with rural communities.
The goal of the program is to support and benefit for both parties. The program member is placed in an approved community and lives in the community in which they serve for 11 months to support program needs. Through this hands-on experience, program members develop leadership skills in system thinking, project management, and various other skills that allow them to make an impact in Oregon’s rural communities.
The rural communities they serve are provided planning and implementation assistance to advance key community projects.
The Oregon chapter of RARE is administered through the University of Oregon’s Institute for Policy Research and Engagement (IPRE).
Through the service-learning programs provided by IPRE, RARE AmeriCorps members gain important service and professional experience by helping to solve community and regional development issues.
IPRE places high value on building relationships and partners in the local communities they work with as well as across the state. Programmatic statewide partners who help inform, guide, and support the work of IPRE and its RARE program include: the Oregon Food Bank, Oregon Main Street Program, Travel Oregon, Energy Trust of Oregon, and The Ford Family Foundation.
More information on the application process can be found here.
More information on the program can be found here.
Contributed by: Megan Chuinard | Public Affairs Associate