RurAL CAP History
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1965 -
- The Office of Economic Opportunity establishes the Alaska State Community Action Program (ASCAP), RurAL CAP’s previous name, to coordinate and oversee funding for community action activities throughout the state.
- On August 26, 1965, the first board of directors meeting occurs.
- We offer Head Start Programming, helping children live healthy lives by training teachers and employing locals.
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1966 -
- We separate from the Office of Economic Opportunity, officially becoming a private, nonprofit organization.
- Our agency begins collaborating with individuals and communities in rural Alaska to provide training and education on the harmful effects of alcohol.
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1967 -
- After the discovery of oil in Alaska, the state begins claiming property for oil expansion. In response, we collaborate with Alaska Natives to ensure their awareness of the events jeopardizing land ownership.
- We partner with the Alaska Federation of Natives and advocate for congressional support to pass the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act in 1971, all while filling 10,0000 allotment claims to secure land.
- We establish Alaska Legal Services which provides legal aid for those who cannot afford it.
- We partner with the U.S Department of Labor to provide jobs for adults with a history of chronic unemployment. The program results in many roads, telecommunications systems, community halls, programs, and parks.
- We partner with the Alaska Village Electric Cooperative (AVEC) and bring electricity to villages at affordable rates.
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1968 -
- We change our name to Rural Alaska Community Action Program, Inc. (RurAL CAP).
- The Community Enterprise Development Corporation (CEDC) forms from within our organization in order to assist fishery, consumer, and arts cooperatives around the state.
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1969 -
- Our agency works with Senator Gruening to secure funding for and establish the Seward Skills Center, now the Alaska Vocation Technical Center (AVTEC), which trains rural Alaskans in equipment operation and maintenance.
-
1965 -
- The Office of Economic Opportunity establishes the Alaska State Community Action Program (ASCAP), RurAL CAP’s previous name, to coordinate and oversee funding for community action activities throughout the state.
- On August 26, 1965, the first board of directors meeting occurs.
- We offer Head Start Programming, helping children live healthy lives by training teachers and employing locals.
-
1966 -
- We separate from the Office of Economic Opportunity, officially becoming a private, nonprofit organization.
- Our agency begins collaborating with individuals and communities in rural Alaska to provide training and education on the harmful effects of alcohol.
-
1967 -
- After the discovery of oil in Alaska, the state begins claiming property for oil expansion. In response, we collaborate with Alaska Natives to ensure their awareness of the events jeopardizing land ownership.
- We partner with the Alaska Federation of Natives and advocate for congressional support to pass the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act in 1971, all while filling 10,0000 allotment claims to secure land.
- We establish Alaska Legal Services which provides legal aid for those who cannot afford it.
- We partner with the U.S Department of Labor to provide jobs for adults with a history of chronic unemployment. The program results in many roads, telecommunications systems, community halls, programs, and parks.
- We partner with the Alaska Village Electric Cooperative (AVEC) and bring electricity to villages at affordable rates.
-
1968 -
- We change our name to Rural Alaska Community Action Program, Inc. (RurAL CAP).
- The Community Enterprise Development Corporation (CEDC) forms from within our organization in order to assist fishery, consumer, and arts cooperatives around the state.
-
1969 -
- Our agency works with Senator Gruening to secure funding for and establish the Seward Skills Center, now the Alaska Vocation Technical Center (AVTEC), which trains rural Alaskans in equipment operation and maintenance.
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1970 -
- We co-sponsor statewide, citizen, and legislative conferences, known as Citizens Participation Conferences, to inform the public of legislation affecting them.
- As needs in rural Alaska change, we sponsor other gatherings such as the Alaska Conference of Tribes, Village Participation Conference, and Rural Action Forum.
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1971 -
- Our Alcohol Prevention Program supports rural communities in defining and addressing alcoholism.
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1972 -
- We house the Alaska Native Commission on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse (ANCADA) until 1974.
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1975 -
- We begin the Energy Program which provides rural individuals with federal funds in the form of loans and grants for energy bills.
- We enter into a joint fuel data gathering project with the Alaska Energy Office for the promotion of future energy legislation.
- We offer Weatherization which supplies low-income individuals with warmer and safer homes.
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1977 -
- The board identifies subsistence, the practice of harvesting wild resources for nutrition and cultural practices, as our organization’s number one priority.
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1978 -
- Our Subsistence Advocacy Program develops while we maintain a full-time liaison in Washington, D.C. who coordinates communication between various Alaska Native, Alaskan, and national groups.
- The Alcohol Prevention Program expands to include teen peer counselor training workshops, Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) education, and domestic violence workshops.
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1979 -
- Energy Advocacy Workshops result in the development of the Alaska Regional Energy Association (AREA) that addresses fuel transportation, alternative energy, weatherization needs, and home heating.
- We begin supporting and organizing subsistence groups, including the Rural Alaska Resources Association, which supports rural communities by providing education and advocacy.
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1980 -
- We initiate the Crisis Intervention Training Program and the Village Energy Reconnaissance and Conversation Program to increase energy self-sufficiency.
- The Alcohol Prevention Program reorganizes into the Counseling Program and the Community Action Education Project (that sponsors statewide workshops for village alcohol and drug abuse counselors).
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1981 -
- The Community Action Education Project creates the Alaska Village Alcohol Information League (AVAIL) in order to maintain a network of mutual support for villagers concerned with alcohol and drug abuse.
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1984 -
- Rural Alaskan counseling and prevention staff gather for the first Rural Providers’ Conference, sponsored and planned by AVAIL.
- Our Subsistence Program helps create Indigenous Survival International (ISI), an alliance of indigenous Alaskans, Canadians, and Greenlandic peoples.
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1986 -
- We decide that none of our events will serve alcohol; several native organizations follow suit.
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1987 -
- Rural Energy Enterprises (REE) emerges as a profit-making entity that secures Toyostove space heaters and provides rural communities with cost-effective heating.
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1988 -
- We support high-efficiency heaters that cut fuel oil while sponsoring village Do-It-Yourself Energy fairs and Rural Energy conferences.
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1989 -
- The Youth Survivors, a five-year project, commences with a focus on at-risk youth and increasing pride in Alaska Native heritage and reducing risk factors.
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1990 -
- We apply the “Spirit of the Family” approach (a training focused building healthy families through traditional Alaska Native family and community values) to our interactions.
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1991 -
- The Emmonak Preschool Intervention Project commences. This five-year project unites us with Emmonak locals.
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1994 -
- We sponsor AmeriCorps, a national community service organization that provides volunteers who address education, public safety, human needs, and the environment.
- The Child Development AmeriCorps Program, later the Addressing Rural Challenges Through Intergeneration Cooperation Program (ARCTIC), serves as a means of addressing child development needs in rural communities.
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1995 -
- The Child Development Center in Anchorage opens and begins supplying families with high-quality, full-day, and year-round child care for young children.
- The Beginning Alcohol Basic Education Studies Program (BABES) and our Early Decisions Project work toward preventing FAS via the education of women.
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1996 -
- The Alaska EPA AmeriCorps Program, later the Rural Alaska Village Environmental Network AmeriCorps Program (RAVEN) is created. Recruited from local communities, volunteers help with solid waste management, sanitation, and energy conversation concerns.
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1997 -
- Homeward Bound forms to provide individuals experiencing chronic homelessness with the tools needed for moving from homelessness into stable and meaningful communities.
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1999 -
- We begin offering Parents as Teachers, a national program educating the parents of young children on intellectual, physical, and social-emotional growth.
- Community Bound begins as a complement to Homeward bound focused on employment and housing. The participants receive individualized employment training, money management plans, rental assistance, and help returning to their community.
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2000 -
- Our Affordable Housing Program commences with the intent of offering permanent housing to those with limited credit and rental history in Anchorage.
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2004 -
- We start the BIRCH (Building Initiatives in Rural Community Health) AmeriCorps Program, which provides members of rural community’s service opportunities in health and wellness.
- We establish Self-Help Housing to aide first-time home buyers through affordable home ownership with no down payment and small mortgage payments.
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2009 -
- The Energy Wise Program launches to reduce rural, residential energy costs and provide jobs for locals.
- We administer several waste management projects to clean up landfills around the state.
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2011 -
- The Growing Up Tobacco Free Project forms to create a healthier environment for Head Start children by promoting tobacco education.
- Karluk Manor opens as the first facility in Alaska for individuals experiencing homelessness, mental illness, medical problems, and substance use disorder.
- We manage the Municipality of Anchorage Weatherization Program and the number of weatherized homes increase.
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2012 -
- We purchase a new Child Development Center in Anchorage, allowing for the expansion of child-care services.
- We use funds from the Alaska Department of Juvenile Justice to finance grants for cultural activities and youth leadership.
- The Resource Basket Training and Technical Assistance Center launches to help rural communities support healthy, successful, and culturally connected Alaska Native youth.
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2013 -
- 14 rural Head Start sites get enabled with live web streaming from classrooms to the Anchorage central office.
- Significant expansion in programming allows 2,378 homes to receive weatherization services statewide.
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2014 -
- RurAL CAP’s Elder Mentor Program launches to improve children’s success through the service of elders in the Foster Grandparent Senior Corps Program.
- We acquire Safe Harbor Muldoon and Sitka Place as supportive housing option.
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2016 -
- We develop 325 East 3rd, a 20-unit supportive housing facility in Anchorage.
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2017 -
- We develop Muldoon Garden, a 23-unit apartment complex to provide affordable, healthy living spaces to low-income residents in Anchorage.
Present Day