The mission of Operation Sunshine was to provide an afterschool and summer program that focused on keeping young ladies out of trouble and exposing them to new and innovative educational programs that would put them on the road to success. As our society and our city changed, the mission continues to focus on education, academic success, and staying out of trouble as its most important reasons for existing; however; The Board recognizes that we must prepare our young ladies for the realities of life by providing motivational and nurturing programs that enhance their social skills, cultural awareness, personal growth and developing their self-esteem. We continue to reach out to all young ladies (ages 5-13) of all social and economic backgrounds living in Pitt County.
Until 1980, Operation Sunshine was funded by private individuals and church groups that observed the positive outcome among the young ladies who participated in the program. In 1980, United Way became the primary contributor of the Operation Sunshine program. As United Way changed its method of donating financial contributors to the program, Operation Sunshine came to rely on fundraising, donations, and grants with most of its funding coming from grants.
Operation Sunshine continued to expand its program to include an after-school program that follows the schedule and guidelines of Pitt County Schools. It established a volunteer program with East Carolina University. As Operation Sunshine continued to expand, so did the programs and activities it offered. Physical and mental health programs were supported by Vidant, the Food Bank of Eastern North Carolina supplied food and information to the participants, their families, and the community in the area. Because one of the individuals who was with Law Enforcement had attended the Operation Sunshine Program as a young lady, we were also able to obtain their support and get some improvement work done to the facility.
As we expanded our programs, we were able to obtain grants and financial support; however, all of that changed in 2020 when the COVID-19 Pandemic attacked our nation. Because of this virus which remained with us from March 2020 until present, schools were forced to close; students were not able to attend classes, businesses that had supported us in the past were no longer able to do so. Consequently, because we could no longer continue to carry out our mission, we had to temporarily close our facility. As a result, we have lost our employees, financial supporters, and our grants that were used to support our program and the young ladies financially. As we focused on the 2021 summer months, it appeared that our summer school program would be limited because Pitt County Schools was offering summer programs to those students who got behind academically because of the COVID-19 Pandemic and the Virtual Learning program that was offered. Most of the students that were able to attend our summer session were those who got behind during the 2020 Pitt County School year. We were not able to meet all the COVID-19 requirements of Pitt County Schools such as having an air purification system in our building, having sufficient tables and chairs to practice social distance, and having a janitorial /clean up service since we did not have the finances to provide them. Since we did not have the support of our major grant donors, we did not have the funding to pay for the service of an executive director, an administrative assistant, and an assistant.
Operation Sunshine opened its doors to girls ages 5-13 on October 4, 2021 after a soft closing in March of 2021. After opening, we partnered with the Pitt County 4H Club! Although we have reopened our doors,we still have not been able to obtain grants to provide all the things we need to support our program.
