OUTREACH

Rutland’s fresh models for revitalization need to be shared. Great Jones Productions launched an Outreach Program that has helped fuel community-building and rebirth in rural and rust-belt towns across the nation. Using our documentary, “The Blood in This Town” as catalyst, our program has provided grassroots leaders with a dynamic tool to engage their citizens and jump-start vital community initiatives.

Through community-based screenings and town halls, we’ve been creating bridges between local communities, exchanging best practices and know-how so that people can seize opportunities to build on local assets, chart new paths to economic development and create vibrant places to live and work.

We’ve taken “The Blood in this Town” to PBS, NPR and the pages of The New York Times, Forbes and The Huffington Post. We’ve reached communities, high schools and key leaders through support from The Ben and Jerry’s Foundation, Pratt Institute, the Rockefeller Foundation and Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility. We’ve partnered with the EPA and CDC’s community development programs to reach hard-hit areas seeking social, economic and environmental justice. With Congressman Peter Welch (VT), we screened on Capitol Hill, spurring national focus on the plight and promise of America’s small towns.