Our mission is to serve as the informed voice for mental health in rural America, and to provide mental health information and resources. Rural Minds is the only national 501c3 nonprofit focused on providing free information and resources to confront rural mental health challenges and the stigma that surrounds mental illness for the 46 million people living in farming, ranching and agriculture communities, small towns, and isolated areas across rural America.

As you’ll read in this newsletter, the Rural Minds team is off to a strong start in 2025! We’ve had a number of excellent opportunities to share vital mental health information and resources across the country through presentations and media interviews. In addition, this week I’ll be participating in a free New York State Office of Mental Health’s 2025 Suicide Prevention Coalition Academy webinar about wellness and resilience in rural communities. Find more information and a link to join the webinar below.

The past few weeks we’ve also been watching as the new administration has taken office in Washington. Of particular concern are pending federal budget cuts for healthcare and the dire implications for the 46 million people who live in rural areas across our nation.

The following article from the Daily Yonder – a credible online platform focused on reporting news that impacts rural America – does a good job of summarizing the potentially devastating effect proposed federal budget cuts will have on healthcare for people living in rural America:

Commentary: If Federal Healthcare Spending

Is a Target, Then So Is Rural America

We will continue to monitor and keep you informed on this issue, as well as make our voices heard in advocating on behalf of the people we serve in rural America.

On Wednesday, February 19, from 12 to 1 PM ET, Jeff will give a presentation for New York State Office of Mental Health’s 2025 Suicide Prevention Coalition Academy webinar: “Wellness and Resilience in Rural Communities: An Overview of Rural Minds.”

Attendees will learn about the unique challenges people who live in rural communities face in accessing mental healthcare, as well as how Rural Minds is working to confront the mental health crisis in rural America. In addition, several New York mental health programs and partnerships will be highlighted.

This webinar from the New York State Office of Mental Health’s 2025 Suicide Prevention Coalition Academy is free and no registration is required.  

To join the webinar, click this link: bit.ly/40xO5z2

We’re excited to collaborate again this year with Pfizer on a campaign to provide information and resources about managing loneliness and social isolation, which are common for people living in rural America. Jeff will be joining Nikki Shaffer, director of occupational health and wellness at Pfizer, in upcoming interviews on this topic with radio stations and podcasts nationwide. 

Click here for helpful information about how to manage loneliness and isolation. If you or someone you know is struggling emotionally or with a mental health challenge, be sure to reach out for help. You can call or text 988 to talk with a trained and caring counselor. The 988 Lifeline provides free and confidential support 24/7.



Collaboration is key for Rural Minds in our work to confront the mental health challenges in rural America and eliminate the stigma, suffering, and silence that surround mental illness. That’s why we’ve created this feature for our newsletter – Partners in the Spotlight – where we take a moment to recognize organizations that collaborate with us as valued members of the Rural Minds Partnership Council. 

In this issue, we highlight Curious Plot.

Curious Plot is a marketing, communications, and consulting agency that represents clients in the food, agriculture, and companion animal care sectors. With a shared purpose of “We Believe in Better,” the agency’s 100+ team members deliver services including go-to-market strategy, public relations, creative, branding, social, digital, and media. Anchored by office locations in Minneapolis (headquarters); Indianapolis; Portland, Oregon; and Modesto, California, Curious Plot team members are located coast to coast.

It takes a seed to grow. That’s the inspiration for Curious Plot’s Seed to Succeed philanthropic initiative that supports nonprofit organizations in agriculture, food, or companion animal care, as well as related organizations dedicated to equity and inclusion. Since 2009, the Seed to Succeed pro bono grant program has provided marketing support to nonprofits that work for positive change on limited budgets. In 2022, Curious Plot selected Rural Minds as the Seed to Succeed grant recipient and provided $75,000 of in-kind public relations, creative, social/digital, and content strategy.

For more information, visit https://curiousplot.agency

We are thrilled to share the exciting news that Rural Minds Founder and Chairman Jeff Winton was selected to receive the prestigious 2025 New York State Agricultural Society “Cap Creal” Communicator of the Year Award for his work with Rural Minds in advocating for the 46 million people living in rural America.

We are grateful to the New York State Agricultural Society for this recognition of our commitment to improving mental health in rural communities by breaking down barriers and providing life-saving mental health information and resources.

And a special thanks to our partners, supporters, and the resilient people living in the rural communities across the country. This achievement is on behalf of all of us!

Click here for a video from the New York State Agricultural Society about Jeff receiving the award.

In this blog post from Families for Depression Awareness, Rural Minds Executive Director Chuck Strand provides resources and information about overcoming barriers to mental health treatment for family caregivers in rural America who support a loved one with a mood disorder.

Here are some highlights of the events that featured Rural Minds over the last few weeks to help raise awareness of rural mental health challenges and provide actionable information and resources for confronting the mental health crisis in rural America.

On January 9, Jeff gave a presentation about mental health in rural America to hundreds of corn, soybean, cotton, and small grain farmers at  the North Carolina Commodity Conference in Durham, NC.

On January 14, Jeff presented to members of the Westfield-Mayville Rotary Club in Westfield, NY, about the issues with rural America lacking good mental health services and how Rural Minds is working to help improve mental health for people living in rural communities.

On January 16, Jeff spoke to members of the Dunkirk-Fredonia Rotary Club at the State University of New York Fredonia Campus in Fredonia, NY, about how Rural Minds is confronting the mental health crisis in rural America by providing much needed mental health information and

resources to people living in rural communities.

On January 29, Jeff and Nikki Shaffer, director of occupational health and wellness at Pfizer, participated in a radio interview with Bridgette Readel on WDAY-AM (Fargo, ND) about coping with post-holiday blues: bit.ly/40RYzYL

On February 13, Jeff presented a webinar via Zoom on building brand equity with corporate social responsibility programs for the National Agri-Marketing Association – the nation’s largest association for professionals in marketing and agribusiness.

Click on the links below for some of Rural Minds’ latest media coverage:

• Post Journal – Mayville Local Honored by Agricultural Society 

• Post Journal – Rural Minds Founder Speaks to Westfield-Mayville Rotary

• AgriMarketing – Rural Minds Founder and Chairman Jeff Winton Receives “Cap Creal” Communicator of the Year Award 

• North Country Public Radio - Rural Communities Have Higher Suicide Rates; This Online Course Wants to Help Neighbors Better Support Each Other 

• RFD-TV – The Holiday Season Can Bring Mental Health Challenges, Especially to Rural America

Be sure to visit the “Rural Minds in the News” webpage to see additional media coverage of Rural Minds that helps increase awareness about mental health challenges in rural America and the stigma surrounding mental illness.

Rural Minds depends on personal donations and corporate support to develop and distribute educational information and resources to improve mental health in rural America. Your donation to Rural Minds provides content and programs at no charge to help confront the mental health emergency in rural communities and the stigma that surrounds mental illness.