The Town of Pembroke will develop downtown improvement projects as part of the RALLY Southwest Virginia program. RALLY is a mini-grant program which provides a $3,000 award to communities in Southwest Virginia to implement a community development project through a team structure. Pembroke is the second team in the New River Valley to receive a RALLY grant, following a recently completed project in Narrows. Regional Commission staff has been working with groups in both Pembroke and Narrows on several related projects that build on the recent planning grant efforts to revitalize their downtown districts and encourage business development.
The project in Narrows focused on promoting the downtown area as a location for new businesses, through efforts to beautify the downtown and provide information about the Town to visitors and business owners who may be interested in locating within the Town. The group developed posters highlighting outdoor recreation activities near Narrows to post in the windows of vacant buildings, and a local Eagle Scout built an information kiosk near the duck pond in downtown, with a map of these attractions and space for promotional materials for local businesses and activities.
For more information about Opportunity SWVA and the Rally program visit: https://www.opportunityswva.org/grants/rally-swva/ or contact Patrick O'Brien (pobrien@nrvrc.org) 540-639-9313 x 206.