School Supplies for Kids in Need

Parents of American Indian students are so thankful that NRC is providing school supplies for every child in 85 reservation schools. We’d like to thank our individual donors, grantors, and in-kind supporters for your generous gifts, to name a few:

Merck Pharmaceuticals
Phoenix Suns
Kids in Need in partnership with Walgreens
LDS Humanitarian Services
International Aid
Matthew 25: Ministries
Sky City Casino
Yavapai-Prescott Indian Tribe

Your support has filled the backpacks of nearly 28,000 children this year.

Just how many U.S. children will head back to school at the end of the month without the school supplies they need? Researchers say that about a third more families are living in poverty since the 2008 economic downturn, and for years we’ve known that one in four American Indian children are living in poverty. From 30% to 70% of these Native children are at risk of not graduating high school (varies by reservation.)

Under severely stressed economic conditions, it is difficult if not impossible for families to afford school supplies. Add to this the lack of shopping in remote reservation communities, and school supplies do not win out over the need for food, gas, healthcare, and clothing. Despite the long-term impact of education on a child’s earning capacity, short-term urgent needs often take all of a family’s resources.

Thus, for every child that receives the school supplies you donated this year, you will have touched their life for the rest of their life and supported them in the hope for a brighter future.