By Jeremy Paxton | Director of Development
Check out what NAAF has been up to!
NAAF had a fun and successful summer!
Youth Council
NAAF assisted the Tohono O'odham Nation's Youth Council with their annual youth conference in Sells, Arizona. The theme this year was "Empowering our youth through love and himdag (culture); One heartbeat at a time." The conference took place over a period of two days June 29-30, 2017. The youth conference served as a tool to encourage, foster, and strengthen our Nation's youth to become great leaders in their own way in their communities, districts, and most importantly in their individual lives. This year there were more than 200 attendees.
Unity Conference
This summer we sponsored our Youth Council’s participation in UNITY, the largest and oldest Native youth network organization in the country. At the Unity conference, Native youth have the opportunity to engage in a series of regional and national youth leadership trainings that provide a plan for developing and implementing service projects in their communities. Last year UNITY celebrated 40 years! Today we begin anew - ready to continue to grow and expand NAAF’s service mission to empower youth. UNITY has grown to 165 youth councils in 36 states, and this year's conference attendance was the largest, with more than 1,800 Native youth and advisors from all over the United States, including Hawaii, Alaska, and also Korea.
Biosphere2 Summer Science Academy
Thanks to a generous grant, four students representing the Tohono O’odham Nation attended the Biosphere 2 Summer Science Academy. Thirty-two high school students from at least four countries lived and learned on the Biosphere 2 campus. In this unique educational experience, students studied earth and ecosystem sciences, participated in hands-on research projects and experiments, and collected data while working side-by side with Biosphere2 researchers. The program culminated with the students making a formal presentation of their research findings. The participants involved in Biosphere2 each received a $2095 scholarship for completing the program.
Academic Summer Adventure
Thank you for providing the students of GuVo District another academically enriching and stimulating summer! Our summer started with one week of day camp at Truck of Love Camp with over 140 students attending. The camp included fitness, cultural crafts, teaching of health through fun games, breakfast and lunch, and was operated by a team of over 30 volunteers. The Academic Summer Adventure Program operated for 6 weeks through a partnership with the Al Jek Rec Center, where 40 students received daily tutorials in math and reading. The students’ favorite trips this summer included Biosphere2 in Tucson and OdySea Aquarium in Phoenix.
Summer Highlights
Healthy People Coalition is accepting new members to complete sectors
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