| Programs |
Appalachian Community Learning Project (ACLP) |
| For more than 20 years, the Rensselaerville Institute
has partnered with the Appalachian Regional Commission
to develop civic entrepreneurship through the identification,
support and guidance of Community Sparkplugs- citizens
who build social capital less by studying problems than
by solving them. |
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| The ACLP grass roots approach has assisted many Appalachian communities. Click on the play button to hear what people have said about the program. |
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| Sparkplugs in over 200 small towns and urban neighborhoods
have used a mini-grant of $2,000 to $3,000 to achieve
results at a fraction of the cost of engaging professional
services to do the work. Here is a sample of the results
from these projects (not bad for such a small investment!): |
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| Chesterhill, Ohio –300 individuals and
businesses donated the resources, time and labor to remove an hazardous
old school and create a park with ½ mile walking track, baseball
field with dugouts, a community garden, a garden path from the school’s
bricks, a shelter, 7 picnic tables and 16 benches. |
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| Panther, West Virginia trained 12 residents as
literacy teachers. They taught 9 elderly residents to read (in 6
months) so they can read to their grandchildren. |
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| Hurley, Virginia residents contributed 2,000
hours to pick up 5,000 bags of trash from 26 miles of roadside.
Every home was cleared, yard to creek bed. |
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| Recent ACLP Results |
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