Imagine hundreds of North Carolinians turning off their lights, unplugging their appliances and pitching tents in their backyards for one night. That is exactly what happened last October when Earth Share of North Carolina (ESNC), a nonprofit network of regional environmental organizations, held its first annual statewide campout called Campout! Carolina.
With the purpose of celebrating and showing support for North Carolina’s environment, more than 600 individuals gathered with friends, families, churches, scout troops and community groups of all kinds to join in the state’s largest campout.
This year, ESNC hopes to double statewide participation for Campout! Carolina on Oct. 10-12. And the nonprofit network has hired Live Oak Communications, a student-run public relations firm at Elon University, to help promote its event.
“A healthy environment is important to the quality of life for everyone in North Carolina,” said Heather Beard, director of ESNC. “Campout! Carolina is a fun way to come together and show our support for preserving this beautiful state.”
To get an accurate tally of campers, ESNC has developed a Web site where campers can be counted as part of the state’s largest campout. Campers are asked to visit www.campoutcarolina.org to register. By tracking the number of participants, ESNC hopes to demonstrate that there is support across North Carolina for a healthy environment.
Visitors to the Web site will also learn tips for environmentally friendly camping, and find outdoor recipes, a star chart and fun activities for enjoying the outdoors. A limited number of Campout! Carolina T-shirts also will be available online.
The homepage is not the only virtual venue for Campout! Carolina. Campers can also get frequent updates about Campout! Carolina and connect with other campers through the Twitter.com and Facebook.com pages.
“Campout Carolina is a great opportunity for parents to share the outdoors with their kids and to teach them about the importance of keeping the environment healthy for future generations,” Beard said.
Those who cannot campout on Oct. 10-12 can still show their support by visiting www.campoutcarolina.org and making a donation to ESNC.
Earth Share of North Carolina is a federation of environmental non-profit organizations working to keep the state’s rivers clean and the communities healthy so people have natural places to visit and enjoy.
Founded in 1991, Earth Share of North Carolina has raised more than $6 million in pledges to protect North Carolina’s environment through workplace giving campaigns and has educated residents on the value of protecting North Carolina’s natural resources through environmental non-profit organizations.
When workplaces partner with Earth Share of North Carolina, employees can support individual organizations working on local and regional environmental concerns, and those working on issues at the national and international level. Earth Share of North Carolina also makes it easy to support the whole range of environmental issues with one gift. Learn more at www.earthsharenc.org.
For more information, contact Angela Griffey (agriffey@elon.edu) or Sean Flynn (sflynn3@elon.edu) of Live Oak Communications at 336-278-5031.