Rural Project Examples Addressing Community engagement and volunteerism

Communities that Care Coalition

Updated/reviewed September 2025

Need: To improve the health and well-being of young people in the rural area of Massachusetts's Franklin County and North Quabbin, and to reduce youth drug and alcohol use.
Intervention: A community-based prevention coalition was formed to improve youth health and well-being and reduce youth drug and alcohol use. The coalition brings together stakeholders from across the community and uses the Communities That Care evidence-based community planning system.
Results: CTC has seen significant reductions in substance abuse among local youth in the 30 rural towns they serve.

Updated/reviewed December 2022

Need: To coordinate formal and informal community-based caregivers for optimal patient experience.
Intervention: The Maryland Faith Health Network unites places of worship and healthcare systems in Maryland. This program aims to decrease the amount of potentially avoidable hospitalizations, improve a patient's overall wellness, and cut down on the cost of medical services.
Results: This model is currently running in 3 hospitals that serve both rural and urban residents in central Maryland. So far, 1,300 congregants from 70 congregations representing Christian, Jewish, and Muslim faiths have enrolled in the Network.

Updated/reviewed October 2025

Need: To improve oral health among the residents of the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota.
Intervention: St. Francis Mission founded a dental clinic, staffed by volunteers from across the country, to offer free oral healthcare to residents of the Rosebud Reservation.
Results: The clinic typically offered 20 one-week clinics every year and served 3,000 patients after transitioning to electronic records in 2021.

Updated/reviewed October 2025

Need: To reduce risk of obesity and chronic disease in rural northwest Illinois.
Intervention: Win With Wellness (WWW) collaborated with community organizations and worksites to improve physical activity and eating behaviors and reduce weight among adults using a multi-component approach.
Results: From 2015 to 2018, the two participating counties initiated 28 Take Off Pounds Sensibly (TOPS) groups with 367 participants. In the second round of funding, WWW recruited 183 participants for 9 TOPS groups and 8 community Heart-to-Heart sites.

Updated/reviewed September 2025

Need: To provide accessible and affordable services to address the challenges associated with aging, serious illness, and grief across rural western Colorado.
Intervention: A nonprofit, community-sustained healthcare model was created to provide the Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE), dementia support, hospice care and palliative care, as well as grief support services for individuals of all ages.
Results: Since 1993, HopeWest has grown to serve more than 3,000 patients and families annually across five counties in western Colorado.

Updated/reviewed July 2025

Need: To bring needed child care to rural Mercer County, North Dakota.
Intervention: A nonprofit cooperative provides part-time and full-time child care.
Results: ECCCC currently has about 75 children enrolled, but it had 86 children at the height of its enrollment history.

Updated/reviewed July 2025

Need: Suicide among veterans has been steadily increasing, and rural veterans have an increased risk of death by suicide compared to urban veterans.
Intervention: A program called Together with Veterans was formed to help rural communities address and prevent suicides among veterans. The initiative is veteran-led, collaborative, evidence-based, and community-centered.
Results: Data collection is ongoing.

Updated/reviewed June 2025

Need: To create a safe space for youth and young adults, ages 14 to 25, in rural eastern Kentucky.
Intervention: The Sapling Center provides independent living skills education and offers a wide array of services as well as fun activities in a supportive environment.
Results: The 5 Sapling Center locations serve 50-75 teens and young adults every day.

Updated/reviewed May 2025

Need: To help rural communities in Texas better prepare for disasters and emergency events.
Intervention: A year-long pilot project used focus groups, a survey, and exit interviews to research a collaboration with librarians and local stakeholders to discuss a community's strengths and opportunities for resiliency planning.
Results: Community stakeholders in Pottsboro and Gladewater collaborated to identify challenges to rural disaster preparedness like aging infrastructure and lack of communication with residents. They began the process to address these challenges through local resiliency planning and future programming.

Updated/reviewed January 2025

Need: To increase access to healthy foods in two rural Nevada counties.
Intervention: HCC and the Rural Health and Nutrition Initiative (RHNI) run food pantries, assist with community and school gardens, and have a farmers market during the summer.
Results: The three food pantries together serve about 3,600 people and distribute over 100,000 pounds of food each month.