| Z. Smith Reynolds Award |
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The Ocracoke Foundation (OFI) has been awarded a grant from the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation. Funds will be used to strengthen the organizational capacity of OFI and expand awareness of our mission by providing funds for website development, office equipment and printed materials. The grant also includes funding for a resource database for use by island non-profits and a series of workshops focused on non-profit needs. The four programmatic goals identified by OFI for the grant were to: improve civic engagement, strengthen the local economy, improve quality of life for residents, and promote a healthier marine environment. The award was for $27,650.
In its history, the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation has made grants totaling more than $442 million to recipients in all of North Carolina's 100 counties. The Foundation currently gives special attention to certain focus areas: community economic development; the environment; democracy and civic engagement; pre-collegiate education; and social justice and equity.
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| Watermen's Exhibit |
 OFI has been meeting with the watermen to review content for the Ocracoke Working Watermen's Exhibit and decide what it is they want to say about their trade. It is important that the exhibit speak for the watermen and show the traveling public more than a collection of vintage photos. The exhibit will seek to provide a better understanding of the real maritime Ocracoke and how heritage is still alive in many ways. Travelers too often leave a museum or exhibit with an understanding of only what is gone. It is uplifting for people to see the roots of this maritime community still present even under such tremendous present day challenges. The mission of the exhibit is to highlight how fishing - past and present - plays an important role in connecting community, environment, traditional workplace, and the local economy.
The Ocracoke Preservation Society's Library yielded many vintage fishing items; newspapers, advertisements, fish tickets, photos, maps etc. A trip is scheduled for the 28th of July to the OuterBanksHistoryCenter in Manteo for more watermen memorabilia. The exhibit's opening will coincide with a fish house open house, prior to Labor Day. Date and time to be announced. |
| OVFD Submits Stimulus Grant |
 On July 10, OFI and the Ocracoke Volunteer Fire Department (OVFD) submitted an Assistance to Firefighters Fire Station Construction Grant to the Department of Homeland Security under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act . The program will be administered through the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) Grant Programs Directorate. OFI worked with fire department officials to develop the narrative and complete the on line application over a series of four weeks. As part of their mission, OFI assists local groups with locating grant sources as well preparing and writing grants. The primary goal of the program is to help fire departments meet their firefighting and emergency response needs by supporting organizations that lack the tools and resources necessary to effectively protect the health and safety of the public and their emergency response personnel with respect to fire and all other hazards. The OVFD seeks to be better equipped to handle the emergencies present day Ocracoke faces. The existing 1500 sq. ft. (lower level) fire house built in 1966 was sufficient for the demands of that time. Since then Ocracoke's housing density has tripled, vegetation has grown, tourism numbers have increased and the construction style of homes are factors that require equipment and truck upgrades. | |
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| Contact Us |
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The Ocracoke Foundation
P.O. Box 1689
Ocracoke, NC 27960
robinpayne@earthlink.net (252) 921-0365
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| Ocracoke Foundation Board of Directors |
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Robin Payne, President
Rudy Austin, V. President
Ellen Gaskill, Treasurer
Al Scarborough, Secretery
Dave Frum
Susie Scott O'Neal
David Tolson
Scott Bradley
Advisory Board
G.Ballance ,Commissioner
Project's Board
David Hilton, OWWA
Robert Raborn, WOVV
Contact Us:
(252)921-0365
P.O. Box 1689
Ocracoke, NC 27960
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OFI has recently interviewed an engineer for developing a plan identifying wastewater and stormwater options. To read the history of the project please click on the May Newsletter link.