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Join the Eastern Ky Goat Producers | Who We Are
In 1992, a group of citizens interested
in the quality of life and the economic future of Owsley County started meeting
with guidance provided by the Redbird Ranger District, USDA Forest Service.
After meeting for several months, this group obtained funding to conduct an
economic diversification study and became the Owsley County Action Team. This
study, entitled "Yes we Can", was completed in 1994, and as a result, the
Action Team began a journey toward sustainable community development that
continues today.
In 1996, the Owsley County Action Team became a partner
in the Sustainable Communities Initative developed by the Berea-based Mountain
Association for Community Economic Development (MACED). The program involved
citizen-based Action Teams in Breathitt, Letcher and Owsley Counties creating a
new development model where citizens respect the relationships between the
economy, ecology, and equity when making wise choices about the future. The
Owsley County Action Team continues this sustainable development initiative
today.
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What We Do
The Owsley County Action Team builds
local capacity through leadership development and exploring new ways to solve
old problems. Members are encouraged to develop expertise in problem solving,
visioning, fund-raising and organizing. Membership in the Owsley County Action
Team is open to anyone willing to attend regular meetings and work toward a
better future for Owsley County. The goal is to have a broadly representative
group of people who are willing to work for the common good.
Through a
joint project with the Mountain Association for Community
Economic Development and the Waitt Family Foundation,the Action Team placed
100 new Gateway computers in the homes of low income women and high school
seniors working to get a GED and planning to further their education, working
and going to school college part time or graduating from high school and going
for further education.
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Community Initiatives
Realizing that a plan is only
useful if it leads to achievement, the Action Team is implementing "Yes We
Can" through several initatives including: |
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| Action Place - Provides public
meeting space to a variety of civic organizations. |
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| Owsley County Drug Awareness
Council - A community effort aimed at the creation of a community "free
of the abuse of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs". |
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| Asset Building -Through a partnership with the East
Kentucky Asset Building Coalition, volunteers prepare and electronically file
income tax for low-income individuals in the area. |
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| Partnership
Housing, Inc. - Has as its mission, "To create a community in which all
residents are housed in safe, quality housing regardless of household
income". |
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| Owsley County Fund for
Excellence -
A partnership of parents, teachers and community leaders who have
joined together to find ways to help encourage our children stay in
school. The fund for excellence provides 3 small scholarships
each year.
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| Eastern Kentucky Goat Producers
Association - A group interested in increasing profits by improving meat
goat bloodlines and accessing new markets. |
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How We Are Funded
The Action Team is actively seeking
to become sustainable and raises funding locally whenever possible. Local
fund-raising includes membership dues, individual donations, rent from
commercial property and support from local entities such as, Middlefork Insurance, Farmers State Bank,
Peoples Rural Telephone Cooperative, Farm Bureau Insurance, Owsley
County Fiscal Court, the City of Booneville, Owsley County School System, and others. We also get a tremendous number of
in-kind contributions.
The Action Team has received support from a wide
variety of non-local funding sources: Mary Reynolds Babcock Foundation,
Environmental Support Center, Christian Appalachian Project, Appalachian
Regional Commission, Corporation for Enterprise Development, USDA Forest
Service, United Health Insurance Company, MACED’s Sustainable Communities
Initiative, the Waitt Family Foundation, the Center for Rural Development in
Somerset, the Appalachian Community Fund, the Bluegrass Community Foundation, USDA Rural
Development, Housing and Urban Development, and the Catholic Campaign for Human Development. |
If you would like more information about Owsley County please check out the offical website of Owsley County at www.owsleycountykentucky.org
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When We Meet
All meetings begin at 6:30 pm at the
Action Place on the following dates:
| May 19, 2011 |
June 16, 2011 |
July 21, 2011 |
| August 18, 2011 |
September 15, 2011 |
October 20, 2011 |
| November 17, 2011 |
December 15, 2011 |
January 19, 2012 |
| February 16, 2012 |
March 15, 2012 |
April 19, 2012 | |
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