Adopt A Native Elder

 Park City     Utah

http://www.anelder.org     << Visit Website

Categories:  Children, Community Service, Elderly, [ View All ]

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Adopt A Native Elder Charity Profile

The Adopt-A-Native-Elder Program started through the efforts of Linda Myers (right in photo) of Park City, Utah. In the late 1980's Linda, an artist, was very moved by a Rug Show displaying the Navajo (or Dine' as they prefer to be called) weavings of the Elders of Northern Arizona. Touched by the stories of the Dine' people as told by Grace Smith Yellowhammer (left in photo) and Rose Hulligan during that Rug Show, Linda was soon very involved in gathering donated food, clothing and simple medicines and was driving to the reservation in Northern Arizona to deliver them to Elders living traditionally on the Land.
Within a year, and with the help of Jeannie Patton, a network grew around the vision that Linda had for supporting the traditional Elders in the native tradition of the Giveaway. At first it was just a group of one or two four-wheel drive vehicles making their way through the remote areas of Northern Arizona -- but those few were soon joined by many others who were touched by the purpose of the Program. Today over 2500 people from all over the United States and a few foreign countries have joined in the Spirit of the Giveaway Circle.

The Program supports over 500 traditional Elders who live in the Northern portion of Arizona and Southern Utah. The activities of the Program focus on helping traditional Elders live on the Land in the traditional ways of The People, as they have for thousands of years. This Program is assisted by traditional Dine' people who serve as coordinators in various parts of the reservation to help us determine the needs of the Elders in their own culture and lifestyle.

Adopt A Native Elder Volunteer Information

The mission and activities of the Program are highly dependent on the hundreds of volunteers who donate thousands of hours throughout the year. A variety of opportunities exist for volunteers, and many skills are needed to accomplish the wide spectrum of tasks required to complete the mission of the Program.
Most of the needed volunteer hours are divided between activities at the warehouse, in Park City, on food runs, or at the rug show.