Impact Starts with Showing Up: Coke Scholars Serve Western NC at 2026 Summit

“Impact” can feel big, sometimes intimidating or even out of reach. In Western North Carolina, it also looks like rebuilding homes, restoring communities, and showing up when it matters.

In June, Coca‑Cola Scholars and alumni showed up in Asheville, North Carolina, for the 2026 Service Summit and turned that simple decision into something much bigger.

A Community in Action

More than 100 Coca‑Cola Scholars and alumni, many bringing their families, traveled from across the United States – one even from London – to serve alongside partners Coca‑Cola Consolidated, Appalachia Service Project, CASE Consultants International, Friends of Swannanoa, and the Swannanoa Grassroots Alliance.

Each Coca‑Cola Scholar received a college scholarship from the Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation as high school seniors to support their education. What makes the Coca-Cola Scholars Program unique is that in addition to receiving a scholarship, recipients join a lifelong community that offers valuable personal and professional development opportunities and connections to fellow mission-driven changemakers.

Together, they supported long-term recovery efforts in Western North Carolina and Eastern Tennessee communities impacted by Hurricane Helene in September 2024.

In the months since Hurricane Helene, communities across the region have been navigating the long road from immediate response to long-term recovery. The 2026 Coke Scholars Service Summit was an opportunity to step into that ongoing effort.

For many, this work was personal.

“A little over 100 of my fellow Scholars and teammates and staff have come to my home of Western North Carolina to help rebuild and work with families affected by Hurricane Helene,” Jordan Scarboro, 2005 Coke Scholar and
Alumni Board member said.

Service That Meets the Moment

Over the course of 2 full days, Scholars mobilized across multiple service sites, collectively contributing hundreds of hours of hands-on service to communities in recovery.

Teams worked on homebuilding and repair projects, supported schools, and engaged in environmental restoration, learning firsthand how communities recover after significant disruption.

Each experience reinforced what leadership looks like when things aren’t neat or predictable. It looks like showing up, learning quickly, and working together to solve tough problems.

An initiative of the Coca-Cola Scholar Alumni Board, Service Summits bring the Coca‑Cola Scholars network back together to live out a shared core value: serving others. This Summit was co-chaired by 2008 Scholar Pat Blute and 2011 Scholar and Alumni Board member Sarah Williams. Coke Scholars Marc Eichenbaum (2000), Parker Hutchinson (2000), Raina Kadavil (2015), and Jordan Scarboro (2005) served on the Summit Committee.

Partnering for Long-Term Impact

This work was only possible through strong partnerships with organizations leading recovery efforts on the ground.

“Coke Scholars alumni… are out in the community working at homes that people need help to get them up and running. We came alongside them to go out in the community to serve,” Tony Nunley, Coca‑Cola Consolidated’s Rapid Response Manager said.

Local partner Appalachia Service Project (ASP) echoed the impact Scholars made in just a few days.

“They worked hard and didn’t complain… Those volunteers had such a great attitude to learn and give back… When can they come back?” was just some of the feedback relayed to Kate McKinnie, Chief Development Officer of ASP.

This partnership-driven approach ensures that service is meaningful and aligned with current community needs.

The Moments That Stay With You

Coke Scholars figured things out together and encouraged one another, bonding over blisters and stories between digs.

2004 Scholars Geraldine Haile and Quinn Rollins attended the Summit to continue a tradition of service after meeting on a Coke Scholars trip to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina nearly 20 years ago. 1991 Scholar Riva Rahl came with her son, Reagan Graeme, who is part of the 2026 class of Scholars.

These moments define the Coca‑Cola Scholars community, rooted not only in achievement, but in shared purpose and connection.

A Milestone Year of Impact

As CCSF celebrates its 40th anniversary, the 2026 Service Summit stands as a powerful reflection of who Coca‑Cola Scholars are and what this community can do when it comes together.

“Being able to come back together and serve with each other… it’s a reminder… that we need to continue to dream bigger, to live our values, and ultimately to remember our responsibility to make the world a better place,” Jane Hale Paulsen, CCSF President said.

Some families we are given. Others we choose.

Year after year, the Coke Scholars community continues to choose service, connection, and impact. Not just in moments like these, but in the communities they return to after the weekend ends.

The Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation celebrates and empowers visionary leaders who are refreshing the world. With its 38th class of Coca-Cola Scholars, the Foundation has provided more than $90 million in scholarships to over 7,200 program alumni who together have become a powerful force for positive change.