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Strengthening the Heartland

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Meagan Scott Hoffman and Amber Letcher discuss Strengthening the Heartland material
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About the Project
Cultivating holistic rural wellness through free educational resources

Strengthening the Heartland is a program created by South Dakota State University Extension and North Dakota State University Extension to invest in the wellness and prosperity of rural communities across the Dakotas.

Strengthening the Heartland developed through the collaborative efforts of faculty from South Dakota State University Extension and North Dakota State University Extension. With generous grant support from the National Institute of Food and Agriculture and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the mission of Strengthening the Heartland is to invest in the wellness and prosperity of rural communities across the Dakotas.

Learn More About Our Project
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LaunchSkills Educational Products

To lead successful lives, young adults need a range of essential skills, such as how to use a credit card or handle conflict with a roommate. Amid the abundance of information on the internet, there is a major gap in the skill sets of today’s teens. High school students lack the practical life skills to thrive in the 21st century.
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2025 Launch Fellowship

The Launch Fellowship offers a yearlong mentorship program for rural, middle school counselors responsible for career exploration in the classroom.
Strengthening the Heartland director Dr. Kristine Ramsay-Seaner reading LaunchSkills Curriculum
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Small Towns. Big Hearts.
National Impact.
Through our work, we believe that educating communities of all sizes, even the smallest, can have a big impact. Through our programming, we've been able to impact communities of all sizes.
Learn More about our Project Impact
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63 rural communities across the Dakotas
7,249 individuals from 63 rural communities across the Dakotas participated in our opioid misuse prevention training.
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Nationwide Addictions Training
Through our Addiction Conference, 41 professionals provided hourlong sessions to a total of 910 attendees from 29 states.
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36 States
36 states have been impacted through our programming and educational resources.

Testimonial

Oh my word — this webinar is by far "the best" information I have gotten on motivational interviewing! It is clear, organized, specific, offers examples, complete, understandable, and I could go on. Thank you again for making this webinar available to us/me, and please let me know if Alex presents again on similar topics. I’d be very interested.
Registered nurse
º£½ÇÖ±²¥app Extension Logo, NDSU Extension Logo, WVU Extension Logo, Strengthening the Heartland Logo, and 4-H Logo

This material is based upon work that is supported by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture, under award No. 2024-41520-43155.

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Want to learn more about our free resources? Here's a few ways to get in touch with us:
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