The East Wake Education Foundation (EWEF), which provides free, high-quality preschool and educational services to the children of low-income families in Wake County, is the recipient of the 2026 North Carolina Peace Prize.
Since EWEF’s founding in 1993, thousands of children in the Wendell, Knightdale and Zebulon areas have benefitted from its free preschool, art and music classes, story times and other enrichment services. EWEF prepares some of the region’s most vulnerable children to succeed in school and more broadly.
The Foundation is the latest recipient of the prestigious annual prize awarded by the North Carolina Peace Corps Association (NCPCA), most of whose members served previously as Peace Corps Volunteers around the world. Other recent honorees have included local nonprofits that focus on military veterans, people with disabilities or adolescent parents; a complete list is available on NCPCA’s website at www.ncpeacecorps.org/cpages/peace-prize. NCPCA recently renamed the award the Margaret Riley Peace Prize, to honor its past president.
“We award this prize annually to honor local groups that promote the values of the Peace Corps,” said NCPCA President Jennifer Chow, a Durham resident who served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Mongolia. “We were impressed by how effectively the East Wake Education Foundation is empowering kids from lower-income families to get ready for kindergarten and beyond. Kids are learning reading and other essential skills, and EWEF also works with the families. Just as we did in the Peace Corps, they’re helping people to help themselves.”
EWEF’s executive director Shannon White also noted parallels between her organization’s mission in Wake County and the legacy of North Carolinians who served overseas in the Peace Corps. A majority of EWEF’s recipient children are Hispanic, she said, and the organization “promotes cross-cultural understanding through teaching approaches and materials, reflecting the families we serve.”
“We envision a future in which every child is healthy and has access to quality education,” White said. “We’re honored to receive this award and are grateful to all of the local businesses, community leaders, volunteers and others who’ve joined with our amazing staff to empower and educate local kids. It’s more important than ever for young students to begin school with a strong start.”
The Foundation’s website, www.eastwakeeducationfoundation.org, provides additional information about its programs.
NCPCA will present its award, which includes a $2,000 check and a hand-thrown vase, on Saturday, March 7, during a “Peace Corps Night” event from 4-7 p.m. at the Eno River Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, 4907 Garrett Rd., Durham.