The Knotts Island Ruritan Club
has two major events each year to raise
the funds necessary to support their work around the island. The
events also help the community by bringing in visitors. If people
know about the island and all it has to offer, the small businesses
benefit. As well, the events give the entire community a chance to
get together for fun and fellowship on a grand scale.
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The Annual Peach Festival
is
held every year on the last weekend in July. It starts on Saturday
morning with a parade and then the Community Park comes alive with live
bands, vendors, entertainers, and guests, enjoying two days of family fun.
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The Annual Wildlife Show is
held along with the Peach Festival at the Knotts Island Elementary
School. Carvers, photographers, sculptors, painters, and other
crafters join in displaying their wares and supporting the work of the
club. Ruritan members run the concession stand where Carolina Barbeque and
other food is available.
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Island Clean-up Day
Each March an Island clean-up is held and the kids at the Knotts
Island Elementary school are a huge part of this event. With their
parents and teachers they assist other groups of citizens and
Ruritan Club members in the clean-up of the island's roadsides.
This day, the
kids also have a poster contest. Prizes are awarded for the
winning posters. The theme of the poster is about
environmental awareness and the winners are displayed throughout the
year on the welcome sign that greets visitor to the island.
The cleanup is followed by a cook out provided by the Ruritan
Club.
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Project Emmanuel
Christmas can be especially hard for some people. Tight
economic situations make it difficult to enjoy the season with the rest
of the community.
Project Emmanuel
is a group made of community organizations and icons from the
island: The Ruritan Club, the United Methodist church, the
Baptist Baptist church, the Volunteer Fire Department, the Volunteer
Fire Department Auxiliary, and the Parent Teachers Association.
Together they pool manpower and resources to assist needy residents
of the island with fuel for heat , utility bill assistance, or food.
They are assisted by the Food Bank of the Albemarle and the
Department of Social Services in Currituck County.
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Blood DrivesBlood drives are organized twice a year by
the club. One is held in September and another in April.
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| Ongoing Community Support |
Food Pantry
On the fourth Thursday of every month from 4 to 7 pm, the
club opens their doors and invites anyone in need of assistance
to come to the food pantry and gather some free groceries.
The club is assisted by and grateful for the help of the Food
Bank of the Albemarle.
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| Good Works Over the Years |
The Ruritan Club helps other organizations and also supports
the community with needs on a more individual basis. These contributions
shouldn't go unmentioned:
When one of the island's elderly citizens needed help, the Ruritan Club
responded. A lady was having trouble receiving the in-home care she
required due to the deteriorating roadway leading to her house. The club
bought gravel and fill from a local borrow pit and repaired her road so the the
health care workers could again drive up to her home for the necessary visits.
Substantial contribution are made to the local Girl Scout and Boy Scout troops.
Every year, scholarship money is awarded to graduating students of the
island.
Help with with medical bills have been generously available.
When local parents had been using their own money to work with the teens of
the island, the club was there to help them out.
Funds have been frequently sent to the Thomas Woods Ruritan Club in Zuni,
Virginia. This club has a membership roster made up of people with
disabilities. They have become a friend of the island's club.
The club votes unanimously to support the Currituck Sheriff's Association
Holiday Fund which helps needy families at Christmastime.
The club has helped the smallest groups such as the cheerleaders of the Currituck County
flag football team.