This week, over 150 community and economic developers joined the ARC POWER team at a public workshop in Wise, Virginia, to learn more about how the POWER Initiative can bring resources to the Region’s coal-impacted communities. Joined by representatives from the Economic Development Administration, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Small Business Administration, the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development, and other partners, community and economic developers discussed strategies for developing effective and impactful projects which will have long lasting impact on the Region’s economic future. This was the first of five workshops the ARC POWER team will be holding across Appalachia. The next workshop will in Manchester, Kentucky, on April 22 with others scheduled in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Alabama in the coming weeks. Through the POWER Initiative, ARC is making up to $45 million available to support sustainable economic diversification efforts in Appalachia, including investments in workforce training, broadband development, entrepreneurship, and growing industry clusters. An additional $1.2 million is available in technical assistance for capacity building and planning activities. Learn more at www.arc.gov/power.
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