The Outer Banks Community Foundation is pleased to announce that the Outer Banks Road to Recovery Fund has been established by an anonymous donor.
The endowed fund will be maintained to award grants to nonprofits that provide support to Outer Banks residents on their journeys to recovery from alcoholism and drug addiction. The fund will advance harm reduction efforts, connect more people to care, and increase public awareness. As with all endowed funds, it is structured to be a permanent community resource for generations to come.
“This new fund is such an important gift to our community,” said Community Foundation CEO Chris Sawin. “Every family on the Outer Banks has been impacted by addiction. Our job is to grow this fund with support of our entire community, and to provide funding for new solutions to the tragic crisis of addiction.”
The donor’s passion to create the fund comes from personal experiences in his own family. It is no secret that drug and alcohol addiction disrupts lives, often tragically, and touches virtually every community in the US.
According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, in 2020 nearly 92,000 people in America died from drug overdoses, a 31% increase from 2019. The CDC also reports that alcohol abuse costs the US several billion dollars each year due to motor vehicle crashes, court costs, health expenses, property damages, and lost worker productivity. The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services reported that in 2020, over nine North Carolinians died each day from a drug overdose.
“Our most recent Community Health Needs Assessment further illustrates the impact substance use continues to have on our community,” said Saving Lives Task Force Co-Chairs Roxana Ballinger and Wally Overman. “In fact, 14.5% of community survey respondents identified substance misuse and recovery support services as being in need of improvement and 42% said it is a health behavior that residents need more information about in Dare County.”
The fund’s creator hopes that donors will be inspired to contribute to the Outer Banks Road to Recovery Fund, in memory of a loved one, or to help someone they may never know. Contributions can be made online at www.obcf.org/donate or by sending a check to OBCF, 13 Skyline Road, Southern Shores, NC 27949.