EC Scholars raise over $1,000 for Ocracoke

Allison Nelson, left, and Serena Mooney stand with some of the donations collected for Ocracoke relief.

Ocracoke, North Carolina holds a special place in the hearts of EC Scholars. It’s where they have their first impact experience as a cohort, where they learn team building skills and get to bond as an EC Scholar family.

That is why the news of the trail of devastation Hurricane Dorian left on the island affected Scholars. While no lives were lost, flooding destroyed cars, restaurants, shops, and hotels, as well as people’s homes. The island has been under mandatory evacuation since Sept. 4 with roads and ferries closed.

After hearing this news and seeing photos of the flooding, the EC Scholar Roundtable decided to take action.

“At one of our meetings, we were talking about how Ocracoke had been negatively impacted by Hurricane Dorian,” said Serena Mooney, a senior EC Scholar and chair of the Roundtable. “We all felt like we should give back to the place that means a lot to the entire EC Scholars program.”

Victoria Chan kneels beside a box of donated supplies for Ocracoke.

The Roundtable decided to fundraise for Ocracoke in addition to the East Carolina Undaunted Hurricane Dorian Goods Drive that the university was holding. To up the stakes and get students excited, they turned it into a class-based competition.

The results were outstanding. Altogether, the four classes raised $1,038.59.

“The money was used to buy items that the island needed to help rebuild,” Mooney said. “Roundtable is currently coordinating trips where Scholars will spend the weekend in Ocracoke helping relief teams clean and rebuild parts of the island.”

The students are planning to visit the island in the spring to help with restoration efforts.

For more information on ECU’s Hurricane Dorian relief efforts for Ocracoke, see ECU’s coverage of the donation drive.