Category: New Nominees

Surfing for Autism is an Autism Spectrum Disorder awareness event each Summer on the Outer Banks of NC while providing our children with an amazing experience and opportunity to surf. Each child is provided two surfers and a skilled therapist or teacher who are well educated on the special needs of our children with autism. Together, they are paired up with children who have ASD of all ages and introduce them to paddling, surfing, and a new way to have fun in the sun.

our mission

Offer individuals and families impacted by Autism Spectrum Disorder a supportive environment to connect and share by creating opportunities to experience the therapeutic benefits of surfing. Through these opportunities, Surfing for Autism is also creating a greater awareness and a deeper understanding of ASD within the community.

our vision

Involve individuals with autism, their families, siblings, caregivers, therapeutic professionals, surfers, and the larger community in an inclusive, comprehensive, and compassionate experience which celebrates the therapeutic benefits of surfing.

The Pea Island Cookhouse Museum is located in the town of Manteo on Roanoke Island in the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Commonly called the Cookhouse Museum, the museum is housed in the original cookhouse building that was part of the Pea Island Lifesaving Station. In 2006, the cookhouse was moved to Sir Walter Raleigh Street at Collins Park, a small park a few blocks opposite downtown Manteo. After renovating the cookhouse, in 2008 the Cookhouse Museum was opened to commemorate and remember the dedication and service that the black lifesavers of the Pea Island Lifesaving Station contributed to the history of America.

In 1880, Richard Etheridge, a former slave born on Roanoke Island who was taught to read and write and who had also served with Colored Troops during the Civil War, was named the Keeper of the Station. Under Etheridge’s leadership the crew of the Pea Island Lifesaving Station performed hundreds of rescues in some of the most treacherous of seas along the coastal United States, an area referred to as the “Graveyard of the Atlantic” for the many ships that sank there. The station is most known for the October 11, 1896, rescue of the entire nine member crew of the three-masted schooner the E.S. Newman when the vessel caught in a terrifying storm was blown 100 miles south off course and came ashore two miles south of the Pea Island station. Albeit some one hundred years later, in 1996 Richard Etheridge and his crew were posthumously awarded the Gold Lifesaving Medal for this rescue, a rescue that has been documented as one of the most heroic rescues in U.S. Coast Guard history.
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Following the death of Richard Etheridge in 1900, the Pea Island station was continually manned by African American Keepers and crew members until the station was decommissioned in 1947. Besides the legacy of Richard Etheridge and his crew, the museum also honors the service of other blacks who followed in their footsteps and served at the station until it closed. These additional men, including Keepers Benjamin Bowser, Lewis Wescott, William Irving, George Pruden, Maxie Berry, Sr., and Surfman Herbert Collins, the last Surfman to remain at the station before it closed, helped Pea Island to continually earn the reputation as one of the best stations along the coastal Outer Banks for the duration of its existence.

About the Foundation

Established in 2002 by a group of committed community organizers, the Dare Education Foundation is an educational non-profit with the sole purpose of supporting the public school system in Dare County. The Foundation offers unique opportunities for individuals, community organizations, and industries to support the public schools in Dare County. Stakeholders include corporate partners, teachers, school leadership, students, families and passionate community members.

Affordable Teacher Housing

The Dare Education Foundation funds and operates two affordable teacher housing complexes, Run Hill Ridge and Hatteras Teacher Housing. Both locations have proven to support the recruitment and retention of highly-effective teachers.

Run Hill Ridge is a 24-unit apartment complex located adjacent to the First Flight Schools campus in Kill Devil Hills. Hatteras Teacher Housing is a 12-unit complex located adjacent to the soccer field and the former Coast Guard station. Interest-free loans from the North Carolina State Employees Credit Union Foundation facilitated the construction of both projects.

Rented below market value at $850 per month, the 2-bedroom, 2-bath units are an affordable option for teachers who may not otherwise be able to afford to live in Dare County.

Classroom Grants and Teacher Funding Requests

Through generous support from partnerships through the country, the Dare Education Foundation makes great ideas come to life! Multiple grant cycles and funding applications allow Dare County Schools teachers to fund innovative projects and initiatives.