Remember Native Americans on #GivingTuesday

If you saw my recent post on how charity begins at home, you’ll understand my point today:
Please Remember Native Americans this #GivingTuesday.

NRC assists 250,000 Native Americans each year, all through the year. We work on 65 reservations with the highest poverty rates in the U.S. and with limited access to the basic necessities most Americans take for granted.

Top 10 Reasons for making a gift through our holiday store on #GivingTuesday:

1. Income for Native Americans living on reservations is less than half the U.S. average.
2. Some full-time workers fall below poverty level. This affects 30-43% of Native youth.
3. Unemployment ranges from 35-85%. Jobs are scarce, with little investment by outside firms.
4. 30% to 70% of Native youth drop out of high school and 9% have a college degree, compared to 19% of their non-Native peers. NRC supports education.
5. One in four Native families lives with low food security. NRC supports nutrition.
6. NRC is a first responder for disaster relief. It’s blizzard season – help us stock up now.
7. Some reservations have Third World conditions: contaminated drinking water; limited transportation, infrastructure and agriculture; and gas stations, grocery stores and healthcare an hour or more away.
8. 1,000+ reservation programs work with NRC to ensure our goods and services get to those who need them.
9. NRC assists tribes that are working toward sustainable income streams – such as wind and solar energy, broadband and other utilities, green housing and other projects – but still struggling economically.
10. Your practical gift will put a smile on a face of a Native child or Elder.

In any conversation about the reservations, it’s important to acknowledge the beauty too. There is rich culture, tradition and unity on the reservations. There is rich diversity too – every tribe and culture is different. This beauty sustains the Indian people. Your gift on #GivingTuesday can help sustain them through the hardships. Visit our holiday store this Tuesday, December 3, and give a practical gift of remembrance.