Coastal Community Action has come a very long way since its incorporation as Carteret Community Action in 1965. At that time, it had three employees and an annual budget of $27,000. Today, CCA has 185 employees and an annual budget exceeding $12,000,000! We grew from providing services only in Carteret County, to the present service area of eight counties: Carteret, Craven, Duplin, Jones, Lenoir, Onslow, Pamlico and Pender. CCA’s growth has not been without its share of ups and downs, but the dedicated board and staff have never lost sight of our mission to respectfully and responsibly help people help themselves. Like most Americans, we are waiting to see how the country’s current economic challenges will be resolved. One thing is clear, however, and this is that demand for our services far exceeds the supply. More than 1.7 million (18.9%) North Carolinians live in poverty, 616,000 of whom are under the age of 18. 24.2% of the North Carolina children under five years of age are considered food insecure (hungry), the second highest in the nation. Over 1.75 million (21.4%) North Carolinians live each day without health insurance. The need is great.
Senator Robert Kennedy said “Few will have a greatness to bend history itself; but each of us can work to change a small portion of events, and in the total of all those acts will be written the history of this generation.” While we at CCA may not be changing history, we are changing lives, one family at a time. We will continue to carry out our mission by assisting and empowering the disadvantaged, and providing them with the tools to overcome poverty, live with dignity, and achieve their full potential. We will persevere as the voice and the catalyst of empowerment and opportunity for those who cannot succeed on their own.
This site reflects the myriad ways CCA staff reaches out to the valued souls we so humbly serve. It is the principle of helping people and changing lives that has been the lifeblood of Coastal Community Action since its beginning, and this is the legacy that we want to endure.
Edith J. Travers
Executive Director