Summer – A Busy Season for NRC

We’ve been talking about American Indian sites to visit on and off the reservations. We hope you enjoyed those posts. During this time of year, when most folks are focused on family and vacations, summer is one of our busiest seasons here at National Relief Charities.

Because we offer more than 25 distinct services for the reservations, we are typically planning for and implementing seasonal services all throughout the year.  We often start planning for these services 3 to 6 months in advance.  And these projects are in addition to our regular services that support reservation programs ongoing from month to month.

One seasonal service just wrapping up in the Southwest is our summer safety boxes. Native American Elders may be at higher risk during the summer due to extreme heat, lack of electricity for air conditioning or fans, and lack of easy access to water, coupled with isolation in remote communities. The Elders were very glad to receive summer hats, bottled water,  sunscreen, bug spray, and fire extinguishers to help them weather the summer. Elders in six communities received the boxes:  Black Mesa, Navajo Mountain (the most remote of all Navajo chapters), Tolani Lake, Baca, and Ojo Encino on the Navajo Reservation, and Peach Springs on the Hualapai Reservation. (The Hualapai are a sister tribe to the Havasupai that inhabit the base of the Grand Canyon.) 

NRC also has several other seasonal projects in the works this summer, including fresh produce, home improvement, back to school supplies, and more.  We’ll be sharing more about these in the days to come.