ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — On Wednesday, June 3, volunteers from New Mexico United, The Somos Unidos Foundation, Electric Playhouse, and Heart of America will assemble more than 1,200 education packs at Electric Playhouse in Albuquerque, NM, for nine schools and multiple health centers in the Navajo Nation communities of Pine Hill, Tohaali Community School, and nearby school districts surrounding Gallup, NM.

Students in grades pre-K through 12 will receive grade level learning-from-home kits with books, STEM materials, a solar lantern, art supplies and a coronavirus ‘stay safe’ packet containing hand sanitizer, four PPE masks and critical virus prevention information. Led by national nonprofit, The Heart of America Foundation in partnership with state-level officials in the Indian Affairs Department, the work is made possible by nearly 20 corporate sponsors and more than 100 individual donors from all across North America.

These partners, including Swinerton Renewable Energy, Goal Zero, and several others are banding together to support families at this difficult time. The goal is to reach more than 10,000 students, through ongoing donations that will make continued distributions possible.

As the top hot spot per-capita for COVID-19 cases in the country, the Navajo Nation and Native American Reservations are faced with myriad challenges – including education, as school closures have pushed learning from the classroom to the home, where electricity, education materials and school supplies are sparse. This is the third step in a multiphase initiative that began with the San Juan School District in Utah and Hopi Reservation in Arizona.

This phase will continue to reach students of the Pueblos and Reservations of New Mexico through late summer. Mylo Fowler and representatives from New Mexico United and its Somos Unidos Foundation will begin delivery of materials on Thursday, June 4 to ensure kits arrive prior to weekend curfew beginning Friday afternoon.