COVID-19 Elder Relief Effort &
Chinle Community Food Bank
The Covid Pandemic Gave Rise to a Permanent Community Food Bank, Services and Volunteer Opportunities at the Chinle Senior Center...
The COVID-19 pandemic hit the Navajo Nation especially hard and at one point the Navajo Reservation was a national hot spot with more cases per capita than New York City. Many Diné families live in multigenerational households and 30 to 40% of homes on the reservation lack running water and electricity. These factors, among others, made the initial outbreak especially challenging. Throughout the pandemic, there were shelter-in-place orders, mask mandates, weekend and nightly curfews for community members, because of strong leadership by the Navajo Nation President Jonathon Nez. Diné elderly were especially encouraged to stay home for their safety to reduce exposure. An article in the New York Times appeared early on: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/09/us/coronavirus-navajo-nation.html
After realizing the severity of Covid, Chinle Planting Hope changed our regular programming, as so many organizations did. We did an informal needs assessment and realized that our Senior Center needed the most immediate support. Our initial plan was to make 20 boxes for the Chinle Senior Center that would be delivered by Mildred Kee, the Senior Center's beloved director. We already had a positive relationship with Ms. Kee because of our Community Volunteer Team. We wanted to help her and her small staff care for and honor our precious shimas and cheiis (grandparents) who are the keepers of Diné language and wisdom. This effort grew and developed over the year as the Navajo Nation dealt with Covid everyday, with no rest.
CPH started a GoFundMe which amazed us with generous donations from all over the country. Because of this outpouring of support we raised over $70,000 and were able to shop for, pack and deliver many hundreds of essential food boxes and PPE bags to the elderly in our community. In January 2021, the IHS Public Health Department and Johns Hopkins Center for American Indian Health asked CPH to help them prepare food boxes for families in quarantine. CPH was honored to help these IHS community heroes who had been working tirelessly all year. As of April 2021 Chinle Planting Hope has packed and delivered over 1200 food boxes and cleaning supply bags for seniors and families.
Now, in partnership with Memorial Baptist Church in Chinle and a food bank in Colorado, Chinle Planting Hope has set up a permanent food bank at the church offering emergency supplies and food boxes to both families and the elderly year round. We are grateful to be able to offer consistent help to local families in need, and to Ms. Kee and other Senior Center Directors who know the needs and can deliver directly to vulnerable elderly each month.
CPH will also continue to deliver special Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter boxes and presents to elderly. (If you or your family, church or organization would like to donate turkeys at Thanksgiving or other necessary holiday supplies, please contact CPH and we'd love to work with you!)
Ahéhee' (Thank you!)
The COVID-19 pandemic hit the Navajo Nation especially hard and at one point the Navajo Reservation was a national hot spot with more cases per capita than New York City. Many Diné families live in multigenerational households and 30 to 40% of homes on the reservation lack running water and electricity. These factors, among others, made the initial outbreak especially challenging. Throughout the pandemic, there were shelter-in-place orders, mask mandates, weekend and nightly curfews for community members, because of strong leadership by the Navajo Nation President Jonathon Nez. Diné elderly were especially encouraged to stay home for their safety to reduce exposure. An article in the New York Times appeared early on: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/09/us/coronavirus-navajo-nation.html
After realizing the severity of Covid, Chinle Planting Hope changed our regular programming, as so many organizations did. We did an informal needs assessment and realized that our Senior Center needed the most immediate support. Our initial plan was to make 20 boxes for the Chinle Senior Center that would be delivered by Mildred Kee, the Senior Center's beloved director. We already had a positive relationship with Ms. Kee because of our Community Volunteer Team. We wanted to help her and her small staff care for and honor our precious shimas and cheiis (grandparents) who are the keepers of Diné language and wisdom. This effort grew and developed over the year as the Navajo Nation dealt with Covid everyday, with no rest.
CPH started a GoFundMe which amazed us with generous donations from all over the country. Because of this outpouring of support we raised over $70,000 and were able to shop for, pack and deliver many hundreds of essential food boxes and PPE bags to the elderly in our community. In January 2021, the IHS Public Health Department and Johns Hopkins Center for American Indian Health asked CPH to help them prepare food boxes for families in quarantine. CPH was honored to help these IHS community heroes who had been working tirelessly all year. As of April 2021 Chinle Planting Hope has packed and delivered over 1200 food boxes and cleaning supply bags for seniors and families.
Now, in partnership with Memorial Baptist Church in Chinle and a food bank in Colorado, Chinle Planting Hope has set up a permanent food bank at the church offering emergency supplies and food boxes to both families and the elderly year round. We are grateful to be able to offer consistent help to local families in need, and to Ms. Kee and other Senior Center Directors who know the needs and can deliver directly to vulnerable elderly each month.
CPH will also continue to deliver special Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter boxes and presents to elderly. (If you or your family, church or organization would like to donate turkeys at Thanksgiving or other necessary holiday supplies, please contact CPH and we'd love to work with you!)
Ahéhee' (Thank you!)