Quick turnaround loans of up to $5,000 are available for small businesses in eastern Kentucky affected by devastating flooding that killed at least 28 people in more than a dozen counties.
Many local businesses in the area were just starting to come back after the pandemic, said Robert Allen, director of loans at the Mountain Association, and now they will need help to rebuild. He said residents and rescue teams beginning the cleanup process relied on shops and stores to provide basic necessities.
“There are grocery stores there that are a vital part of the community, where the food source is,” he said. “There are businesses that are going to have a very hard time rebuilding, and the economic impact is real.”
Allen said loan information may not yet be available online, but wants residents to know to continue to check mtassociation.org for updates. President Joe Biden has declared the flooding a federal emergency, which opens the door for assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and federal aid for recovery efforts. The loans are aimed at helping business owners with immediate needs and have a six-month, interest-only repayment period.
Allen said the goal is to get local businesses “back on their feet” as quickly as possible “to cover expenses that will come from critical equipment they may need – loss of revenue, need for more capital, cleanups – whatever whatever the case may be.”
FEMA requests for assistance are online at Disasterassistance.gov. If specific county information is not yet available, residents can pre-apply and the application will be processed once the county has been included in the federal filing. Home Crisis Cleanup help is also available at crisiscleanup.org.
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Cities and towns across America are making recruiting efforts to keep their populations stable. A grant program for community-led projects focuses on creating livable places for all, and the response is growing in North Dakota.
Since 2017, AARP has been awarding Community Challenge Grants — which call for rapid improvement projects led by civic leaders, nonprofits, and residents.
At the state and national levels this year, the program awarded its highest number of grants yet.
Janelle Moos — director of advocacy for AARP North Dakota — said that as municipalities monitor population trends, it’s important to better understand certain quality-of-life issues.
“Maybe it makes the streets more walkable, making their downtown areas more user-friendly,” Moos said. “How do they create community gardens? »
In North Dakota this year, four groups with ideas to improve their communities received grants totaling $52,000.
Among them is a plan for a public fishing spot at Devils Lake, as well as informational videos to promote the use of public transport in the Bismarck, Mandan and Lincoln area.
Last year, Bismarck received funding to revitalize an underused park in a diverse area, with a new mural serving as a key part of the improvements.
The city’s nutrition services program coordinator, Katie Johnke, said she hopes it can spark conversations for similar efforts, while allowing area residents to come together on a range of issues.
“I think there’s a lot of opportunity to use these spaces as a neutral environment for people to have these conversations,” Johnke said.
The program expands its reach by examining projects, including those that address challenges such as affordable housing.
Moos said these collective efforts are always centered on improving the lives of everyone residing in or looking to relocate to a specific community.
“We all want very similar things,” Moos said. “So these projects are really looking at what keeps people in communities, but what attracts them, and then how can we apply that funding to make sure that’s something the community needs and wants. “
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AARP is now accepting nominations for its 2022 Nebraska Andrus Award for Community Service, which honors Nebraskas ages 50 and older who share their experience, talent, and skills to enrich the lives of members of their community.
LaNeta Carlock and her husband Stan received the Andrus Prize in 2020 for a series of projects they carried out in Haigler, in southwestern Nebraska – starting with volunteering to help underprivileged children learn to read.
“So we had wonderful careers, we were able to retire early,” Carlock said. “We decided to return to our small village to give back to the community where we started.”
After finding that the small country school Stan’s mother attended had fallen into disrepair, they expanded their volunteer footprint. Six years and $50,000 raised later, the school became the first of many museums and community centers founded by the Carlocks in Haigler.
Nomination forms for the annual award are available online at “aarp.org/AndrusAward”. Applications must be submitted by July 15.
Carlock says there are many volunteers across Nebraska doing important work, and she encourages anyone who appreciates their contributions to take the time to complete the application to give them the recognition they deserve.
“Even though they may not want it, or think they don’t need it,” Carlock said. “But it’s to let others know the joy and satisfaction of giving back, to encourage others to volunteer for their communities. Because you’ll get so much more in return.”
Past Andrus recipients were honored for their volunteer work fighting for the rights of caregivers at work and at home; collect and deliver clothing, household items and toys to the Omaha Indian Reservation in Macy’s; grow fresh produce for food banks and senior centers near Gering; and transportation of Red Cloud emergency medical technicians and medications to the local hospital.
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Volunteers have set up camp and are hard at work at the historic Lemley Mill in Wyoming’s historic South Pass mining district, where the red desert meets the Wind River Mountains.
They are working to stabilize the building, which still contains mining material inside.
Renee Bovee, program coordinator for the Wyoming Cultural Trust Fund, said once it’s on a better footing, visitors will be able to peek out the windows and see what a gold mill looked like in the beginning. of the XXth century.
“Eventually,” Bovee said, “people will be able to see this mill, understand the surroundings, understand what it was like to try to be a gold miner in this area with the horrible Wyoming winters.”
Built during the Great Depression, Lemley is one of the last remaining gold mills in the area.
The 30 square mile mining district saw swarms of migrant miners after the discovery of gold in 1842. By 1868, some 1,500 people lived in South Pass and Atlantic City.
The fund provided resources for the project through a grant to the Alliance for Historic Wyoming.
The U.S. Bureau of Land Management partnered with the nonprofit Historicorps to assemble a team of volunteers to help with structural improvements to the factory and Miner’s Delight’s only saloon.
Liz Rice, director of workforce engagement and communications for Historicorps, said the show provides a window into the boomtowns of the time.
They were extremely active for a few years, often with several saloons, granaries for buying food, lodgings, and other buildings filled with a variety of businesses.
“And in this case,” Rice said, “the saloon is unique not only for being the only one there, but it’s also one of the most deteriorated buildings that can yet be salvaged.”
The saloon is one of 17 buildings still standing at Miner’s Delight, and Rice said she expects to send more volunteers – students and young adults learning traditional trades and crafts – to the site in the years to come. coming.
She said attendees rarely drop a few pounds, thanks to the delicious meals provided by Historcorp – one of the many benefits reported by volunteers.
“One of the things I hear the most is how much camaraderie they experienced,” Rice said, “how they learned about history, how much they were able to advance their own technical skills on a historic preservation project site.”
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