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Family
Treks Cross Country to Help Sioux Kids
When
Jill Hamburg Coplan told me she was camping cross country--and
bringing a U-Haul full of gear to kids on an Indian reservation,
I asked her to write about her adventures:
The
Toyota was crammed with an old cooler wedged in the backseat;
a crate of food (bags of nuts, cans of Chef Boyardee), camping
gear for four and borrowed books on CD and AAA guidebooks.
With
our boys, 6 and 9, we went camping across the country--Great Lakes,
Great Plains, Rocky mountains, southwestern canyons, the Pacific.
We had no itinerary, but there was one place we had to go: Sioux
Indian Boys and Girls Clubs, to deliver a U-Haul filled with donated
baseball equipment. Friends in Montclair chipped in to pay
for the 4 by 8 trailer. The equipment comes from Changing
Winds Advocacy Center in Fairfield, Conn., a cool nonprofit
that also does school supplies and book drives. Read
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Children
in Cheyenne River enjoy the Sports Equipment.
The
Clubs in Cheyenne River announced that baseball would be a new
activity this summer and we were requested to send equipment
for about 50 children. Initially, equipment and uniforms were
purchased for children of the Reservations in Lower Brule, Crow
Creek and Cheyenne River. However, on Cheyenne River, more than
150 children signed up to play, and The Southport Congregational
Church, the Fairfield Nationals Little League, Fairfield Girls
Softball teams, The Soccer Post in Fairfield, and the Boys and
Girls Clubs of Southport, and the Fairfield Sun newspaper all
stepped in to make the baseball drive a success.
When members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
heard about our efforts, one of their members, Bob Lopiano,
who is also head of the Pop Warner League in Monroe, CT said,
"We have been looking for the right place to donate new
football equipment for several months and nothing felt right.
This feels right!!"
When we contribute to the well being of children in need, whether
through sports, education, online
universities or summer schools, it is a tremendous gift.
The high school drop out rate on these reservations sometimes
is as high as 75%, and inspiration for a better way of life
is critical for these and all children. Seeing 150 children
signed up to play baseball was a real inspiration, both for
them and for those worked hard to make it happen. The gift of
a better future for a child is the best gift anyone can give.
Changing
Winds purchases were made possible through donations of listeners
of WBAI radio's Tiokasin Ghost Horse, Cheyenne River Lakota
Sioux.
Thank
you to all of our loyal supporters!
More Cheyenne River Photos
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The
Connecticut Connection:
Packing for South Dakota
June
2009 Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
and the Pop Warner League of Monroe, CT donate football equipment
for 80 kids. Here they load a truck with baseball equipment
for more than 100 kids, approx. 100 pairs of sneakers and new
clothing donated by retail stores. The truck was bound for the
Boys and Girls Clubs of Cheyenne River, thanks to the efforts
of those named above as well as The Southport Congregational
Church, the Fairfield Nationals Little League, Fairfield Girls
Softball teams, The Soccer Post in Fairfield, and the Boys and
Girls Clubs of Southport, and the Fairfield Sun newspaper.
More Southport CT Photos
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| Cristina Foundation
Feedback
New York User Group Helps Native
Americans
The Rockland County PC User Group is a member of the Association
of Personal Computer User Groups (which facilitates communication
among computer user groups, the community, and the technology
industry.) A number of these groups operate computer refurbishing
projects to provide used computers to schools, charities or individuals
that need them. The Rockland County (New York) project is known
as PCReNew. Since 2001, they have collected and distributed thousands
of computers. The program’s director, Hank Feinberg stresses that,
“It’s not about the machines; it’s about empowering people.”
They recently learned of (and seized) an opportunity to help provide
computers to a Native American reservation in South Dakota. Like
many National Cristina Foundation partner organizations, they
found a way to help make a difference.
A colleague of the Rockland group’s president, Ken Herbig, had
heard a radio interview with Christine Rose from the Changing
Winds Advocacy Center that discussed some of the problems faced
by Native Americans in South Dakota. Unemployment and suicide
rates are high, economic opportunities are few. She also talked
about a chance to help make a difference.
Christine wrote:
The Boys and Girls Clubs of the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota
had been given an old bowling alley to refurbish. With a minimum
of funds, many of their plans simply included getting new sheetrock,
floors and decent plumbing. But in Indian Country, the moccasin
telegraph is still pretty good technology and when Changing Winds
heard about the efforts, we asked if they would also like a library.
They were thrilled and added, "We are also hoping to get
some computers. Can you help with that too?"
The radio show resulted in a series of conversations among PC
ReNew members, who told Changing Winds that they could send the
library 20 computers.
Jacinda Begay Hacker, a Lakota from the Rosebud Reservation,
said that the computers will be split between three locations
of Boys and Girls Clubs. Along with giving young people the opportunity
to learn about and use computers, they will be used for teaching
culture and language classes, enabling the children to practice
their original language which is in jeopardy of being lost.
Beyond the culture classes, Changing Winds is organizing for
teachers of various trades and crafts to journey to the reservation
this summer to teach the children various ways in which they can
earn a living without leaving their land, family and traditions.
Economic development is very slim on the reservations in South
Dakota, and these computers will be used for learning trades such
as building websites, graphic design, even accounting, and will
enable the youth to be able to earn a living, and connect them
to the world beyond their remote and rural borders.
About the Christina Foundation
The National Cristina Foundation provides computer technology
and solutions to give people with disabilities, students at risk
and economically disadvantaged persons the opportunity, through
training, to lead more independent and productive lives. Read
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