Our Work In North Carolina In partnership with the North Carolina Department of Commerce, ARC is supporting 29 projects in North Carolina totaling $4.6 million in fiscal year 2022. These investments have been matched by over $41.3 million and are attracting an additional $650.2 million in leveraged private investments in…

Governor Roy Cooper was sworn in as North Carolina’s 75th Governor in January 2017 with three decades in public service protecting families, keeping communities safe, and working to create jobs and improve schools. As the son of a school teacher, education and workforce development are among his top priorities. With…

Jim McCleskey’s roots in North Carolina’s Appalachian region go back to colonial days. He was appointed in 1999 as Director of the North Carolina Washington Office and as ARC Alternate by Governor James B. Hunt Jr. and was reappointed by Governors Michael F. Easley in 2001, Beverly Eaves Perdue in…

For Philip Cooper, helping his community recover from substance use disorder is a personal, lifelong commitment.

ARC partners are expanding outdoor gear manufacturing sector.

Since 2016, Wilkes Recovery Revolution, Inc. (WRR) has worked to make recovery a reality in North Carolina. WRR was founded by Devin Lyall,  whose own experience in long-term recovery helps inform the nonprofit’s services, peer-driven structure and leadership – including a board of directors made up of over 50% individuals in recovery. WRR’s partnership with ARC began in 2019, when Lyall began…

It’s been a full year since the nation’s first confirmed COVID-19 case. With federal plans to amp up vaccinations as soon as possible, it’s important to take a look at how Appalachian states are responding to, and in some cases leading, vaccination…

STEMwork in western North Carolina (WNCSTEMwork) is a teacher professional development initiative of the Kenan Institute for Engineering, Technology, and Science at North Carolina State University. With ARC support, this program supports six middle and high school teachers from ten counties as they develop their capacity to lead and…

In October 2019, North Carolina State University (NCSU) received a $1.1 million grant from ARC’s POWER Initiative to launch EmPOWERing Mountain Food Systems. The project initially intended to strengthen a seven-county “foodshed” in Western North Carolina by helping current producers become more profitable and training new farmers…

Eulalia Francisco, a sewer at Opportunity Threads in Morganton, North Carolina, is one of 600 regional sewers mobilized by The Industrial Commons to produce medical safety gear. The Industrial Commons, based in Morganton, North Carolina, is a nonprofit developing interconnected social enterprises to solve problems for businesses and workers. The…

With ARC support, North Carolina’s Isothermal Community College (ICC) has raised community awareness of career opportunities available in the manufacturing sector, enhanced manufacturing-related curriculum and pathways at the secondary and post-secondary levels, and is preparing students for gainful employment in the manufacturing, automotive, and aerospace industries.