Any time is the season for giving and good will

“Giving Tuesday,” the Tuesday after Thanksgiving and as a counter to the frenzy of buying on Black Friday and Cyber Monday, is touted as a “global generosity movement unleashing the power of people and organizations to transform their communities and the world.”

While we applaud this effort, there’s no reason we all can’t continue the thought and practice giving throughout the year.

This year the Ocracoke Invitational Surf Fishing Tournament gave some of their net proceeds from the 38th annual event in May to several organizations in the community:

Ocracoke School – $500 for a sign, $500 to the Booster Club, $300 to the Beta Club and $500 to the arts program;

Ocracoke Volunteer Fire Department, $400;

Ocracats Inc., $100;

Island Inn Park project (a program of the Ocracoke Preservation Society): $500;

Food for Folks (a meal project of the Ocracoke United Methodist Church), $600;

Ocracoke Alive for the Festival Latino de Ocracoke, $300;

Ocracoke School Scholarship Fund: $2,000;

Over the years, this this fun and often zany tournament with its clever team names and accoutrements has donated more than $125,000 to the community, said Sharon Miller, one of the local tournament organizers.

These amounts may look like small and insignificant change to many whose communities like to talk in six-figure fundraising numbers.

But on Ocracoke, a community that thrives because of its many volunteers, these donations have a major, positive impact, are well-appreciated and go a long way.

We thank the fishing tournament for its generosity. We note that islanders seem to be very generous in general, supporting all the various fundraisers throughout the year by offering items for raffles and purchasing tickets as well.

Ocracoke has a number of worthy groups, some of which are mentioned in these pages, to which you can give if you feel so inclined and be assured that the money will be put to good use.

The following include the school, nonprofits and churches with their P.O. box numbers.

Add Ocracoke, NC 27960 to the rest of the address, except for the new Stella Maris Chapel, a part of Our Lady of the Seas in Buxton.

Ocracoke School, P.O. Box 189. If you wish, you give just to the school to help pay for classroom needs or you can identify any of the various programs for your donation such as the Beta Club, Ocracoke Boosters, the PTA, the Alumni Club, and the Running Club, to name a few.

Ocracats Inc. P.O Box 993

Ocracoke Alive Inc. P.O Box 604

Ocracoke Community Pool Association, P.O Box 1371

Ocracoke Community Radio WOVV. 90.1 FM, P.O Box 1447

Ocracoke Decoy Carvers Guild, P.O Box 238

Ocracoke Foundation, P.O Box 1689

Ocracoke Health Center, P.O Box 543

Ocracoke Island Running Club, P.O. Box 189

Ocracoke Preservation Society P.O Box 1240

Ocracoke Volunteer Fire Department, P.O Box 332

Ocracoke Working Watermen’s Association P.O Box 1165

Ocracoke Youth Center, P.O Box 1684 

Churches

Ocracoke United Methodist Church P.O Box 278

Ocracoke Life Saving Church P.O Box 68

Ocracoke Stella Maris Catholic Chapel P.O. Box 339 Buxton, NC 27960