For Immediate Release
Contact: Hillary Crowder Smith, 703-351-2086, [email protected]
Lake Buena Vista, Fla. (February 22, 2016)—The Foundation for Rural Service (FRS) unveiled a new logo and mission statement at a gathering of more than 2,000 rural telecom leaders in Lake Buena Vista today. This rebranding effort celebrates a new chapter for FRS since the foundation joined forces with the Foundation for Rural Education and Development (FRED), the foundation formally associated with OPASTCO, in January of 2015.
FRS’s mission, in cooperation with NTCA–The Rural Broadband Association, is to seek to sustain and enhance the quality of life in America by advancing an understanding of rural issues.
“We have updated our mission to better reflect that the advancement of rural communities is not just a rural issue, it’s a national one. Today, one in four rural children lives in poverty and less than 3% of all American philanthropy goes to rural America,” said FRS Executive Director Jessica Golden. “If rural Americans don’t fight for our rural communities, who will?”
By this spring, FRS will have given out over $1 million in scholarships to rural students since its inception in 1994, and will have awarded 19 grants to rural communities, hosted 2,000 student leaders from across rural America in Washington, D.C., and taken dozens of congressional staffers into rural communities with the goal of making sure rural remains a part of the national dialogue.
More information about FRS is available online.
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The Foundation for Rural Service (FRS), in cooperation with NTCA–The Rural Broadband Associationand its members, seeks to sustain and enhance the quality of life in America by advancing an understanding of rural issues. FRS is committed to educational achievement in rural communities, recognizing that tomorrow’s economic and civic development depends on the involvement and commitment of today’s youth. Visit us at www.frs.org.
NTCA–The Rural Broadband Association is the premier association representing nearly 900 independent, community-based telecommunications companies that are leading innovation in rural and small-town America. NTCA advocates on behalf of its members in the legislative and regulatory arenas, and it provides training and development; publications and industry events; and an array of employee benefit programs. In an era of exploding technology, deregulation and marketplace competition, NTCA’s members are leading the IP evolution for rural consumers, delivering technologies that make rural communities vibrant places in which to live and do business. Because of their efforts, rural America is fertile ground for innovation in economic development and commerce, education, health care, government services, security and smart energy use. Visit us at www.ntca.org.