Cooperatives across the globe adhere to the same Seven Cooperative Principles that guide all of our decisions––from how we run the co-op, to how we engage with our local communities. The seventh principle, Concern for Community, is essential to who we are as cooperatives. We serve our community not only by being an essential service, but by helping to power our local economy. Whether through economic development, volunteerism or donations to local causes, we invest in this community because it’s our home too.
In keeping with this principle, the cooperative recently awarded a grant, in partnership with North Carolina’s Electric Cooperatives (NCEC), to support Outer Banks Forever, a nonprofit that raises funds for the National Park Service (NPS) in Dare County. The group has been raising funds for the construction of a multiuse pathway on Lighthouse Road in Buxton since 2019. The project took a big step forward in November 2023, when the NPS broke ground on the first 1.25-mile-long phase of the project.
The cooperative first supported the pathway project in 2020. CHEC and NCEC gave a grant for $30,000 to Outer Banks Forever that helped fund the feasibility study for the pathway. The feasibility study was the first step necessary to move the project forward.
"Cape Hatteras National Seashore (the Seashore) appreciates the generous grant to assist with design of the Buxton multi-use path,” said David Hallac, superintendent of the National Parks of Eastern North Carolina. “A well-thought-out design - often hard to find funding for - helps to ensure that the path provides for a safe and enjoyable experience for all that use it.”
The second grant, awarded in December 2023 in partnership with NCEC, supported Outer Banks Forever’s fundraising efforts toward the construction of new concrete restrooms and showers near the Old Lighthouse Beach Access. The NPS hopes to complete this project in the next 12-18 months.
“The Seashore also thanks the Cooperative for its strong support for the construction of a restroom facility at the intersection of the pathway and the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse move path,” said Hallac. “The restrooms will provide important services to those that visit the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse Beach and the multi-use path.”
CHEC and NCEC are proud to support this community enrichment project, which will bring both economic and safety benefits to this special area of Hatteras Island. To learn more about “Pathways to Your National Parks,” and how you or your business can support this project, visit www.obxforever.org/pathways.