CCEC sponsors 8 students to attend Co-op Leadership Camp at the NC FFA Center at White Lake each summer.

The event is hosted by the Cooperative Council of North Carolina (CCNC) to educate, connect and promote the cooperative way of doing business and provide a fun learning experience for the teens selected to attend.

“The five-day camp costs teens nothing, not even transportation to and from the facility,” said CCEC Communications Director Melissa Glenn. “The council runs a bus across the state to pick up campers and return them home at the end of the event.”

The program is an experiential learning processes where the teens build a worker/owner tee shirt cooperative, elect a board, hire a general manager, design and produce tee shirts. They learn about the leadership, governance, and the seven cooperative business principles during the entire process.

The teams create infomercials featuring the principals, have a leadership awards banquet night and learn what it means to be a part of the greater good that cooperatives offer. The week also includes workshops from other cooperative industries including the agriculture sector, credit unions, retail and utilities. And participants work in small group sessions focusing on the area of leadership development and competitive team-building activities.