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Your Parks, Your Impact:
A Message From Our Interim Director |
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| I can’t imagine a world without national parks, and I can’t imagine a world without philanthropy. Outer Banks Forever brings the two together to form a perfect union. Over the past 23 years, I have worked for various nonprofit organizations and one thing has remained constant: the people. Everyone involved inside and outside an organization – the staff, donors, board members, and volunteers – are deeply invested and passionate about helping a community thrive through philanthropy. People like you! |
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| Our community has also shown their love for our national parks by providing in-kind services like video production and photography and volunteering their time for important projects like building an educational garden at Fort Raleigh and beach cleanups at Cape Hatteras. And let’s not forget our loyal friends and partners who help spread our message by sharing our content and social media posts, and by telling their friends and family about Outer Banks Forever. In whatever way you choose to show your love for our Outer Banks national parks, we are grateful. |
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| As I write this, beautiful snow is falling outside my window, but we all know spring and summer will be here soon. If you have plans to visit the Outer Banks in the coming months, make sure you visit our national parks you love and cherish. When you return home, I’d love to hear about your trip to our national parks! Feel free to reach out to me anytime at (252) 423-4543 or send an email to NicoleErickson@obxforever.org. |
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With gratitude,
Nicole M. Erickson
Interim Director/Development Manager
Outer Banks Forever |
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P.S. You can help us spread the word about Outer Banks Forever and the importance of supporting our Outer Banks national parks by doing one of these things today: - Think of three friends who love the Outer Banks as much as you do and forward this email to them or tell them about Outer Banks Forever the next time you see them.
- Share this donation link with family and friends! Encourage them to start a monthly gift of $10 or more to make an impact on our Outer Banks national parks all year long.
- Share your story and pictures of why our Outer Banks national parks are important to you on social media using the hashtag #obxforever on Facebook or Instagram!
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Celebrating Black History in the Outer Banks |
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| Our Outer Banks national parks preserve and share both the difficult and inspiring stories that have not only shaped our local community, but also our nation and our world. This month, we join with our National Park Service partners in celebrating and honoring Black History Month by sharing some of these stories, from the Freedmen’s Colony on Roanoke Island, to Captain Richard C. Etheridge and the Pea Island Lifesavers, to the Hotel D’Afrique on Hatteras Island, to poet Paul Laurence Dunbar’s friendship with the Wright brothers. |
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| If you’re in the Outer Banks, we encourage you to check out the newly enhanced Freedom Trail at Fort Raleigh National Historic Site, featuring the artwork of Sonja Griffin Evans, life-sized silhouettes, and expanded educational signage that help tell the stories of the freedom seekers who found safe haven on Roanoke Island during and after the Civil War. Additionally, our friends at the Pea Island Preservation Society, Inc. (PIPSI), will be hosting a special event, “PIPSI, Past, Present, Future” at College of the Albemarle’s Dare County campus on Feb. 22 from 3-4 p.m. to honor the lives of the Pea Island Lifesavers. The event will feature three short films sharing the story of Captain Etheridge and the Pea Island Lifesavers, as well as PIPSI’s efforts to make this important history known. The event is free and open to the public, so early arrival is encouraged due to limited seating. Light refreshments will be served at the conclusion of the event. |
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Meet Our Board: Ivy Ingram |
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| We’d like to introduce you to Ivy Ingram, one of our incredible Advisory Board members! Ivy has been a resident of Kill Devil Hills for almost 25 years and joined our Board in 2023. Currently, she operates a preschool and serves as the Mayor Pro-Tem for Kill Devil Hills. Ivy is passionate about giving back to our Outer Banks national parks and especially enjoys spending time at Wright Brothers National Memorial! |
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Below are a few ways you can show our Outer Banks national parks some love this month (and all year long)! For even more ways to support our parks, click here. To sign up to be notified of volunteer opportunities in our parks, click here. |
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| Our Outer Banks national parks continue to face challenges like adapting to a changing coastline, preserving the many historic structures they manage, and budget cuts that further restrict staffing at a time when our parks continue to see high levels of visitors. Our mission is to help protect and enhance our Outer Banks national parks, now and forever. That includes supporting our parks when they face unexpected challenges, like the fire at the Bodie Island Double Keeper’s Quarters last month. |
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| One of the ways we’re helping meet our parks’ greatest needs is by creating a Parks Forever Fund that allows us to pool funds from each of you, as well as our local business partners, to be able to adapt to immediate needs as they arise and create a sustainable way to address longer-term needs. If you’d like to support restoration efforts at the historic Bodie Island Double Keeper’s Quarters, or you’d like to support all three of our amazing national parks, make your gift today to our Parks Forever Fund. |
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| Legend has it the Ocracoke ponies arrived on the island with shipwrecked explorers in the 16th or 17th century, and they’ve called the island home ever since. Did you know you can show some love to these beautiful and unique ponies (like Sacajawea, pictured at left) by symbolically adopting one? Your gift of $50 or more helps cover the costs of the ponies’ ongoing care and feeding. |
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| When you adopt a pony or support the herd in honor of a loved one, we’ll send them a picture and an adoption certificate. You can choose to receive your adoption certificate by mail or email. Please note: We are a small but mighty team and we work diligently to mail out adoption certificates in the order they are received! Please allow 7-10 days to receive a paper certificate. |
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| If you’d like your gift to be more environmentally friendly and ensure more of your donation goes directly to the ponies, just click the “Digital Option” checkbox on the last screen before you complete your gift and a photo and a certificate will be emailed to you and/or your honoree. Please note: It can take 24-48 business hours for your photo and certificate to be processed, as they are not automated. Please add NicoleErickson@obxforever.org to your safe senders list. If you have not received your certificate in 24-48 business hours, please check your spam folder. |
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| What’s more, your purchases support our work to protect and enhance our Outer Banks national parks! You can also shop our online store from wherever you are by clicking the button below. |
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