On a Wednesday afternoon at the University of Oregon in the historic Gerlinger Hall, guests and stakeholders of all ages came together to celebrate the start of another Sustainable City Year Program (SCYP) service year. The fourteenth year's partner is a special one, as the City of Salem returns to the program.

The Resource Assistance for Rural Environments (RARE) AmeriCorps Program service year is in full swing and the RARE service members are already seeing the fruits of their labor. RARE is an AmeriCorps program administered through the Institute for Policy Research and Engagement (IPRE), and has been working alongside our rural communities since 1994 to improve economic, social, and environmental conditions for these communities.