Help Native American Students Impacted by COVID-19

This year,  AIBL  is participating in Giving Tuesday to raise funds for providing essential COVID-19 supplies to our Native American students & their families living on tribal reservations. 

Our care packages will include Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) items like gloves and reusable masks, comfort items such as over-the-counter cold & flu medicine and tea, and household items like non-perishable food, cleaning supplies, and toilet paper. 

Here are the facts:
1. Native American students and families living on tribal reservations across America have been disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic (CDC, 2020). These communities often lack access to many services we take for granted, such as healthcare facilities, pharmacies, and even grocery stores. 

2. American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) populations are experiencing new confirmed cases of COVID-19 at a rate 4.3x that of non-hispanic whites (CDC, 2020). For example, the Navajo Nation has the highest rate of cases when compared to any other state in the US (IDSA, 2020).

3. When we surveyed our AIBL students to assess their needs during the coronavirus pandemic, 56% said that they were struggling to pay their monthly rent and bills due to themselves or their family members losing their employment. In addition, 22% of our students stated that they were having trouble accessing and affording food, leading to inability to feed their families and provide nourishment for elders in their communities (AIBL COVID-19 Assistance Survey, 2020)

4.  The abilities of Indigenous communities to overcome these obstacles are unfortunately limited, due to intergenerational trauma and little to no access to vital resources. Many of our students reside on rural tribal lands and in food deserts - even going to the grocery store is a rare event due to the long drives or lack of transportation.

Join AIBL on #GivingTuesday this year to support our hardworking and resilient students in their time of need.