[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 124 (Tuesday, July 23, 2019)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E961]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              THE 25TH ANNIVERSARY OF OREGON RARE PROGRAM

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                         HON. PETER A. DeFAZIO

                               of oregon

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 23, 2019

  Mr. DeFAZIO. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the 25th 
anniversary of the University of Oregon Resource Assistance for Rural 
Environments (RARE) program. This AmeriCorps program is administered 
through the University of Oregon's Institute for Policy Research and 
Engagement and is dedicated to improving economic, social, and 
environmental conditions in rural Oregon communities.
  Since its inception in 1994, more than 600 RARE members have served 
all 36 counties and more than half of the cities in Oregon, providing 
much needed capacity and expertise to rural communities. In the past 25 
years, RARE members have completed more than 2,000 assessments, plans, 
and reports for local communities, written more than 700 grants, raised 
over $6 million for communities, and recruited more than 10,000 
community volunteers who served more than 8.6 million hours. In the 
last five years alone, communities in my congressional district have 
benefitted from 37 projects and partnerships coordinated by the RARE 
AmeriCorps Program.
  This year, 31 RARE members are working across the State of Oregon to 
develop and implement community planning, community and economic 
development, natural resource planning, and community food security/
food systems projects. Current projects in my district include a RARE 
member working with the City of Florence Public Art Committee to select 
and install two large-scale public art pieces in the Urban Renewal 
District. There is also a two-year project with the Oregon Coast 
Visitors Association focused on community-driven initiatives for 
outdoor recreation, signature events, and culinary and agritourism-
related opportunities on the southern Oregon coast.
  I am proud to note that RARE AmeriCorps Program partnerships include 
federal and state agencies and notable non-profit foundations and 
organizations. The key partners are the Corporation for National & 
Community Service (AmeriCorps), the University of Oregon, the Ford 
Family Foundation, the Oregon Food Bank, Travel Oregon, Oregon Main 
Street, Energy Trust of Oregon, the Federal Emergency Management 
Agency, and the Oregon Department of Transportation.
  It is my pleasure to congratulate the RARE AmeriCorps Program on 25 
years of service to rural communities in Oregon and to thank RARE for 
its many vital contributions. I have no doubt these first 25 years of 
success will serve as the inspiration for the next twenty-five.

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