Volunteers Assemble Distance Learning Packs For Native American Students

LEHI, Utah – Volunteers with the Young Living Foundation put together educational kits for Native American students and families hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“These kits are going to students and families in the Navajo Nation, as well as the Goshute Tribe,” said Jackie Skinner with the Young Living Foundation.

Inside the kits were everything from age-appropriate books, STEM activities for in-person and at-home learning, paper notebooks, pencils, crayons, markers, waterless hand sanitizer and PPE.

1,000 educational kits being assembled to go to students in the Goshute & Navajo Nations thanks to @YoungLivingAF & #HeartofAmericaFoundation. Details on @KSL5TV pic.twitter.com/qgzD9kRqkP

— Felicia Martinez (@FeliciaKSL) May 4, 2021

One thousand educational bags are being provided thanks to a partnership between the Young Living Foundation and the Heart of America Foundation.

Impacts from the pandemic have made distance learning extremely challenging for students in the Navajo and Goshute nations, and these kits will get families through the rest of the school year and summer, said Jill Heath with Heart of America Foundation.

Each kit will also have a solar lantern.

“These lanterns are solar powered so when the sun sets the children can continue reading and continue their homework instead of a wood-burning stove or lamp, which creates a healthier air environment for them and they can continue engaging as a family,” Heath said.

Additionally, the Young Living Foundation is equipping 50 homes with Chrome devices and solar panels that will power the houses for three to five days.

There will be two drop-offs Tuesday — one in Tooele and another at the Urban Indian Center in Salt Lake County. The remaining educational packs will be taken to the Navajo Nation on Wednesday.