Citi Foundation Invests in Rural America

September 10th, 2009 by Lindsey Karlson

The pomp and circumstance of last week’s groundbreaking at the Rural Learning Center has officially passed. The last of the cake is eaten, and the office is looking a bit more orderly. What we’ve failed to communicate, I think, is what the day really represented for the Rural Learning Center as an organization, for Howard as a community, and for rural people as a whole. It wasn’t just an event to celebrate a new building; it was the beginning of something entirely new.

Just a month or so ago, we received a call from Jerry Nachtigal with Citibank, SD. We had applied for a Citi Foundation grant just two months prior that would help the Rural Learning Center jump start a renewable energy jobs and education program in our new facility. Jerry was calling to let us know that our grant application had been approved, and that we would soon be receiving $250,000 from Citi Foundation. Remarkable.

To top it off we learned that Pam Flaherty, President and CEO of Citi Foundation (NY), would be traveling to Howard to present a check to the Rural Learning Center during our groundbreaking celebration. Citi Foundation decided to invest in the future of Howard, Miner County, and South Dakota as a whole, helping us create a more sustainable future for the entire nation. Watch the video below to hear to what Pam and Citibank, SD had to say at the groundbreaking.

We are extremely excited about what this investment means. For the Rural Learning Center, it means that we have the resources to launch an innovative renewable energy jobs training program and a “science to the sidewalk” community education program around rural sustainability. For the community of Howard, it means that economic decline is a thought of the past and that the future is looking bright and green. For South Dakota, it means that our neighbors and friends will be able to learn new skills in emerging industries where they can earn living wage jobs with benefits to support their families.

We are excited to share the investment that Citi Foundation has made, whether you attend a renewable energy job training class, visit our facility a year or so from now or simply watch what we’re up to from afar. We’d like to think we’re all better off. Thanks, Citi Foundation!

Photo Credit: Paul Higbee. More photos of the groundbreaking can be found on the RLC Flickr Stream.

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