About MRDC
The Maryland Rural Development Corporation (MRDC) is a private non-profit organization that has been providing services in response to the needs of rural, low-income households and communities since 1979. MRDC’s activities benefit low-income communities and individuals throughout rural Maryland. Since 1986, MRDC has served as Caroline, Cecil, and Kent Counties’ official Community Action Agency.
"In partnership with governmental and non-governmental agencies, MRDC provides community and educational resources to increase self-sufficiency in a strong, sustainable rural Maryland.”
What makes MRDC unique is our ability to provide so many necessary and diverse services to the rural poor while increasingly serving “the whole person” – ensuring, for example, that our Head Start parents can earn their GEDs and build their futures as their children are building theirs. We also provide transportation, childcare, and meals in our adult education program because we understand that we are serving families when we serve the individual.
MRDC’s key programs:
- Head Starts in Harford, Cecil, and Caroline counties, serving over 450 children each school year
- Early Head Start in Cecil County, currently serving 50 families and expanding
- Adult education (run in conjunction with Chesapeake and Cecil Colleges), serving 75 adults and over 50 families each year
- Economic development consultation services
- Housing assistance, including weatherization and rehabilitation, serving over 500 families per year
- Financial literacy education and training for first-time home-buyers, as well as foreclosure prevention, loan mitigation assistance, and emergency mortgage counseling.
- MRDC’s circuit riders assist 18 towns and have procured over $300,000 total for projects in addition to grant funding we help to secure
- The Rural Community Assistance Partnership (RCAP) administered by MRDC serves 17 small towns and has brought in over $100 million in improvements over the past 15 years – providing safe, potable drinking water and adequate waste water, solid waste management, and local leadership development.
- Legislative advocacy
Rural Infrastructure
