Two formerly thriving mining regions are now fighting poverty, educational decline, and obesity through service. Founded in 2002, the Appalachian Coal Country Team works to combat poverty by revitalizing rural Appalachian coal communities affected by pre-regulatory coal mining. Its success provided the model for the Western Hardrock Watershed Team, founded in 2006, which works in rural communities affected by historic gold, silver, and other metals mining in the southwest. Together, the two teams form the OSM/VISTA Teams serving 9 states (PA, OH, MD, WV, VA, KY, TN, CO and NM). Made possible by an innovative partnership among AmeriCorps*VISTA, the Office of Surface Mining (OSM), and local community/watershed groups, the OSM/VISTA Teams place college graduates with community/watershed organizations to support citizen-centered community solutions and create a network of support that otherwise would not exist among isolated, rural communities.

In rural Appalachian and the hardrock mining West, communities do not have the adequate access to resources or the capacity to pursue large state or federal grants and, as a result, resources quickly are allocated to urban and metropolitan areas. These mountain communities endure poverty, declining populations, and an irregular economy, but remain proud of their heritage, their strong sense of community, and their abundant natural resources. Our focus on rural historic mining communities means that we are able to offer support to areas often overlooked by large federal and state agencies and inner-city focused large foundations, and provide them with a network of support, semiannual intensive trainings exposing them to new opportunities and contacts, and the ability to make those necessary partnerships. OSM/VISTA Members build the capacity of nonprofits and local agencies to expand and improve services, foster collaboration, recruit volunteers, generate private sector support, and engage community members. Our program's five core goals that guide the OSM/VISTA Teams are:

1. Build local capacity
2. Promote environmental stewardship
3. Promote economic redevelopment and community revitalization
4. Enhance outreach and education
5. Support OSM/VISTAs’ professional development

Recently, the OSM/VISTA Teams completed an unprecedented three year research project studying rural volunteerism in America, which has produced a Toolkit for Rural Volunteers. The research project identified who rural volunteers are, selected and tested best practices for recruiting, managing, and retaining volunteers, and developed a toolkit of how to use the practices. The OSM/VISTA Teams will be presenting these findings and the toolkits to its communities and OSM/VISTAs at their upcoming trainings in an effort to spread the knowledge of how to better understand rural volunteers and how to recruit, manage, and retain them for their organization.

The OSM/VISTA Teams have been innovating environmental stewardship service opportunities and developing new interpretations of how to bring people out of poverty for 10 years. Combined, the Teams have raised millions of dollars and recruited tens of thousands of volunteers for our rural communities. The Teams will continue to blaze the trail for environmental stewardship and economic opportunity in rural mining communities as it brings people out of poverty.

Learn more about our Teams by visiting: www.hardrockteam.org and www.coalcountryteam.org