Dare Education Foundation

11/04/2026

❄️ Help keep local kids warm this winter! ❄️

Kees Vacations is holding a One Warm Coat Drive through Tuesday, Dec 1, 2026 and there are two easy ways to help:

🧥Donate a coat! Drop off new or gently worn kids' coats (all sizes) at KEES in Grandy (6810 Caratoke Hwy) or Hatteras (58822 Marina Way, Suite A). Please make sure coats are clean and wearable, with no holes, missing buttons or broken zippers.

💻 Donate online: https://onewarmcoat.rallybound.org/owcsmallbusiness/Member/MyPage/10350364/KEES-Vacations

Every coat dropped off stays right here, warming a Currituck or Dare County kid this winter 💙

Help support One Warm Coat's mission to share warmth today!

10/18/2026

🌳🪏Despite the rain, we had more than a dozen volunteers brave the elements to transform the First Flight Elementary School Outdoor Learning Garden! 🤙

This was the final stop on our OBX Volunteer Week journey, and we have absolutely LOVED seeing so many outdoor classroom spaces be completely transformed for our students & teachers! 💙

We want to give a special thanks to those who braved a nor’easter yesterday to make this part of FFES shine ✨:

⭐️ Sara Haigh, Master Gardener, co-manager and administrative coordinator of the Outer Banks Arboretum and Teaching Garden

⭐️ Cady Breslin, Director of Dare County’s NC State Cooperative Extension Office

⭐️ Kyle Breslin, Dare County Ranger for the North Carolina Forest Service

⭐️ Sarah Fletcher, FFES Principal (📣Dare County Schools Principal of the Year!)

⭐️ Marty Creech, FFES Vice Principal

⭐️ Katie Weaver, Instructional Assistant, FFES

⭐️ Jennifer Johnson, Speech-Language Pathologist, FFES

⭐️ Whitney Waddington, Instructional Assistant / Media Coordinator Assistant, FFES

⭐️ Allen Kimball, DEF Board Member

Plus several other parents, students, and Master Gardeners!

💵 65 bags of garden soil, 40 bags of mulch, 6,000 pounds of #10 screenings (gravel for the paths), and edging made possible by a generous GRANT from the Outer Banks Community Foundation!

It’s amazing what we can accomplish when we come together around a great idea!

Huge YOU to everyone who helped make all of these projects possible!

10/17/2026

Next and final stop for our OBX Volunteer Week clean up crew is First Flight Elementary School today from 9-12pm! ✈️💙

Who says you need sunshine to make a difference? 🌧️ 🌿 We might get a little wet, but we’ll have a lot of fun sprucing up the outdoor spaces at FFES!

10/16/2026

It’s amazing what can be accomplished in 3 hours! 💪 Our clean up crew absolutely CRUSHED IT at First Flight High School yesterday! 💙✈️

We’ve got ONE clean up event left to wrap up OBX Volunteer Week, so join us tomorrow at First Flight Elementary from 9am - noon and let’s keep this energy going! 🪏🪴

10/16/2026

🌿 Our outdoor classroom cleanup at First Flight High School was a HUGE success! 💙✈️

Yesterday’s crew absolutely crushed it! We transformed the outdoor classroom space, power washed the student courtyard, and added planters to bring the space to life. What a difference a little teamwork can make! 🌱✨

A big thank you to everyone who came out as part of OBX Volunteer Week to help create more welcoming spaces for students and teachers. We couldn’t do it without our amazing community!

Shout out to John & Sara Haigh and Cindy Funderburg (NC State Extension Master Gardener Volunteers, Dare County), Jeff Schwartzenberg (Visit The Outer Banks), Jodie Mitchum (Delta Zeta Dare County Chapter of Delta Kappa), Cady Breslin (NC State Cooperative Extension Dare County Director), Ross & April Stevens (First Flight High School PTO), Mike Phelan (FFHS teacher), Carrie Houseknecht (MMS librarian), Carla Heppert & son, Anna Leigh Chatman, and ALL of the awesome volunteers that showed up yesterday to help!

💚 Want to join us for our FINAL cleanup? Meet us this Saturday at First Flight Elementary School from 9 a.m. to noon! We’d love to have you join us as we wrap up our October volunteer efforts! 🌿

10/15/2026

🪴Next stop for our OBX Volunteer Week clean-up crew: First Flight High School! ✈️

Join us this afternoon as we spruce up the outdoor classroom spaces and courtyard for students & staff at FFHS! 🪏💚

10/14/2026

🌿 Our outdoor classroom cleanup at Cape Hatteras Elementary School was a success! 💚

A huge thank you to everyone who came out yesterday as part of OBX Volunteer Week to help freshen up these spaces for students and teachers!

We’re so grateful to Principal Rachel Benton and her family, Sara and John Haigh from the Dare County Master Gardeners, Daniel and Kate Pullen, Kenny Bright, and DEF Executive Director Ben Sproul and his wife, Chana, for volunteering their time. We really appreciate you all! 🌱

Want to join us for our next cleanup? Come out to First Flight High School tomorrow from 3:45–6:00 p.m. to help spruce up the outdoor classroom spaces. We’d love to see you there! 💚

10/13/2026

Join us this afternoon at Cape Hatteras Elementary School as we spruce up the outdoor classroom space for students and teachers! 🪴🧤

Bring a buddy and help us make a difference! 💙