For more than 20 years, Tom Riggenbach of NavajoYES (Youth Empowerment Services) has been leading Navajo youth and families on a unique adventure that incorporates outdoor activities, education and community service.
This annual, multi-week adventure — the Tour de Rez — covers approximately 1,200 miles of Navajo Country (Diné Bikéyah) and welcomes about 200 participants each summer.
Most students join the Tour for a weeklong journey that includes mountain biking, backpacking and rafting, traveling about 100 miles during that time.
Along the way, they build trails, plant trees and learn about Navajo Nation history and geography, the environment, health, nutrition and fitness, as well as basic first aid and bike maintenance.
Through the Tour de Rez and other outdoor adventure programs, NavajoYES aims to empower young people and promote healthy living, while integrating education and community service.
Eve’s Fund has been a supporter of NavajoYES for the past six years because the organization’s mission is closely aligned with our goal of promoting health and wellness among Native youth.
Our past contributions have been used to purchase much-needed mountain bikes and safety helmets for the Tour de Rez and other programs. We’ve also “sponsored” young people on the Tour, giving them the opportunity to participate in this life-changing adventure.
We’re proud to partner with NavajoYES again this year by providing funding to support the Tour de Rez, a youth mentoring program and the Shiprock Marathon, the only marathon event on the Navajo Nation.
To learn more about the Tour de Rez, visit the NavajoYES website.For more information on the upcoming May 5, 2012 Shiprock Marathon click here.
For more information about how Eve’s Fund is bringing hope to Native youth, visit our website.
Eve’s Fund needs your support to continue our high quality youth programs. We appreciate donations of any amount and are putting every dollar to good use.Please click below to donate through our secure Pay Pal site or send a check to Eve’s Fund in c/o Robert M. Crowell, MD, 180 Elm St., Suite I, PMB 168, Pittsfield, MA 01201.
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