Cornerstones’ Supporting Community Fund
Cornerstones’ Supporting Community fund has accomplished its goal of offering assistance to our partners during the critical first year of COVID-19. We were overwhelmingly successful in raising $49,485.00, due to the kindness and generosity of our donors.
All funds went directly for needs as expressed by the Pueblos and northern New Mexico villages with whom we partner. The grants ranged from support for basic needs such as food and personal protective gear to the purchase of a Tuff Shed for a guard station, offering shelter to those operating entry-exit to one of the Pueblos.
We concluded the year supporting two projects which support Tribal elders living in isolation. Funds were directed to the Art with Elders Isolation Project at the Pueblo of Jemez and to a seniors’ project at Red Willow Center at the Pueblo of Taos.
In Native American communities, elders are held in high regard, cherished as the knowledge holders, keepers of their history and stories.
Each Pueblo offers comprehensive senior services filling basic needs for elders living in quarantine. Seeking to further alleviate the stress of those confined to their homes, and wanting to aid their emotional health and social well-being, both Pueblos expanded their services to include art projects to engage their communities. The grants offered opportunities for the elders to utilize their artistic talents and to share their creativity with family members and friends.
In all, Supporting Community offered assistance to twenty Cornerstones’ partners. We are deeply grateful to our donors for their magnanimous response to our request.
THE DEAP SCHOOL
The DEAP Dzil Ditl’ooi Empowerment, Action, & Preservation School is a charter school, serving 60 students and families in Navajo, NM. The area has been severely impacted by COVID! DEAP requested funds for access to clean drinking water. Many families rely on tap water as their drinking water source and that water requires filtration to be safe for consumption. Supporting Community provided funding to purchase filtering water pitchers for families and water bottles for the students. The water bottles chosen were of high quality to be reusable, instead of the common plastic bottles that litter the community.
PUEBLO OF SANTO DOMINGO
When the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the Santo Domingo Pueblo, Governor Thomas Moquino, Jr. closed the Pueblo to prevent the spread of the virus and to limit access in and out. Supporting Community supplied funds for a 10 x10 weatherproof shed to be constructed and placed at one of the main entrances to the Galisteo and SDY2K subdivisions, with approximately 80 homes. The Security Guards are looking forward to the ‘shack’ and appreciate the Housing Authority and Cornerstones working together on the project.
TEWA ROOTS SOCIETY/PUEBLO OF NAMBE
The Supporting Community Grant is helping Tewa Roots Society and the Pueblo of Nambe to connect water and sewer lines for the implementation of an experiential education youth-build project called Resilience and Empowerment through Sustainability (RES). The facility will be utilized to support life-saving clinical services, as well as doubling as a COVID-19-related support center.
ANCESTRAL LANDS
Ancestral Lands, a program of Conservation Legacy, engages Native American youth and young adults in paid conservation, recreation, and natural and cultural resource protection projects across the Southwest. Funding from Cornerstones’ Supporting Community has allowed the organization to issue face coverings and KN-95 face masks to their participants.
ZUNI EMERGENCY MOBILE PANTRY
Elders and those who lack transportation and financial support from the Zuni community have been the hardest hit by the pandemic. Funding from Supporting Community support the efforts of several moms, who have created a mobile pantry that provides non-perishable foods, personal hygiene items, and cleaning supplies for those who cannot leave their homes.
PUEBLO OF ACOMA
The Supporting Community grant provided the Pueblo of Acoma with sanitizer, gloves, and 3-ply masks to continue safeguarding against and preventing the COVID-19 virus. The grant also included a donation of meat, a staple that has been not readily available to the community.
YOUTHWORKS
YouthWorks is an innovative organization offering a continuum of services designed to reconnect “at-risk” and disadvantaged youth with our community through education, employment training, and job placement. Cornerstones' Supporting Community Fund is pleased to grant YouthWorks funding for the purchase of food for the Golondrinas Program in La Cienega during this extraordinary time of COVID-19.
OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE, VILLANUEVA
This parish community is made up of members who live in the village of Villanueva and those who live in the surrounding five missions of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Cornerstones’ Supporting Community Fund provided a grant for food packages delivered to the homes of seniors when possible via family or neighbors.
MCKINLEY MUTUAL AID, GALLUP
McKinley Mutual Aid was created specifically to provide assistance to the vulnerable in the Gallup area during COVID 19. MMA is based on the strong, pre-existing network developed through McKinley Community Health Alliance, an intertribal, interfaith, and interracial group of volunteers, allowing them to quickly organize and establish a relatively immediate supply chain, production, and dissemination. Cornerstones’ Supporting Community has funded the compilation of boxes and/or distribution of food, water, PPE, and other supplies.
ST. GERTRUDE THE GREAT, MORA
St. Gertrude the Great is a Catholic Church located in Mora, NM. The funds granted by Supporting Community helped provide utilities payment assistance to the poor in the parish and sixteen missions served by the church.
PUEBLO OF PICURIS
On March 20, 2020, the Pueblo of Picuris Tribal Council passed a resolution declaring a State of Emergency in Response to COVID-19 and all roads except one were closed to the public. Supporting Community allocated funds for the purchase of thermometers for use at the entrance Guard Station and other pueblo locations in support of the response effort. We also supported the purchase of food staples and protective gear.
MORA INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT, MORA
The Mora Independent School District is in the Mora Valley, which is in the northeastern area of New Mexico. The school nutrition service distributes meals to children 18 years and younger during the summer. These meals are “grab & go” style. Cornerstones’ Supporting Community Fund provided a grant for purchase of the to-go compartment trays, bags and other containers needed to pack the meals. The main goal is to reach as many children as possible and making sure that they have something to eat daily.
CASA MILAGRO, SANTA FE
Casa Milagro is a safe, trusting, and nurturing community for adults recovering from homelessness and debilitating mental illness. Funds from Supporting Community helped build a “safe-room” for guests recovering from COVID-19.
MAJOR MARKET
Major Market Inc. (MMI) is a Native American business owned by the Tsabetsaye family in Zuni Pueblo, NM. As such, it was able to procure bulk food and sanitary items wholesale for the Pueblo of Zuni’s COVID-19 emergency response to the pandemic. Supporting Community Fund provided a one-time grant for this.
BARRIOS UNIDOS, CHIMAYO
Barrios Unidos, Chimayo, supports individuals struggling with addiction and families shattered through addiction. The program re-engages the community through the spirit of Querencia (Love of Peace). Supporting Community donated funds to assist grandparents raising grandchildren by providing them with necessities (food, plants, supplies for children’s activities) they could not access easily during COVID 19.
RIBERA COMMUNITY CULTURAL CENTER, RIBERA
The Cultural Center is a re-purposed school building, originally built in the late 1800’s, restored in 2014. It now serves as a gathering place for approximately 5000 residents in Ribera and the surrounding rural area. The Center is the venue for a wide range of classes and celebrations. Because COVID-19 has restricted these income-producing activities, Supporting Community funding assisted with the payment of utility bills.
TRUE KIDS 1
Supporting Community has funded two projects for True Kids 1 to support at-risk youth during the pandemic. True Kids 1 is a youth media education nonprofit, located in Taos, New Mexico. Their mission is to promote digital citizenship and open career paths for youth by providing media skills, tools, and opportunities. Their vision is to transform education through media production for social change.
The first funded project supports a Social Media Campaign which invites youth to create and submit short videos about themselves, explaining what they like or do not like about online learning, talking about their “quarantine” experiences The goal of the Campaign is to amplify student voices, let them know they are not alone and to use digital technology to foster positive connections.
The second project to receive support is Direct Engagement, an initiative in which 2 carefully chosen youth leaders personally reach out to fellow students who are not showing up for online learning classes to find out if they are OK, connect them with resources and information.