FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Barbara Crowell Roy Phone: 800-646-2952 barbaracrowellroy@evecrowellsfund.orgFARMINGTON, N.M. – (September 8, 2014) – Eve’s Fund is proud to announce it has received a $7,844 Quality of Life grant from the New Mexico Governor’s Commission on Disability (GCD). As part of its mission, GCD awards small grants to nonprofit organizations offering programs and services that increase the quality of life of New Mexicans with disabilities.
Eve’s Fund will use part of the grant to expand its ThinkFirst Navajo injury prevention program in New Mexico. The program, which reduces brain and spinal cord injuries and fatalities among Navajo youth and teens, provides culturally sensitive, free education to schools across the Navajo Nation in New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah.
The grant will also be used to meet the major goal of boosting the confidence, skills, and independence of the program’s VIP (Voices for Injury Prevention) speakers, all adult Navajos with paraplegia.
“We are so pleased that GCD recognizes how hard our ThinkFirst Navajo team is working to save lives and prevent injuries among Navajo youth,” said Barbara Crowell Roy, president of Eve’s Fund. “Our VIPs face the daunting daily challenge of living with brain and spinal cord injuries. Instead of giving up, they share their personal injury stories with students and teach them how to prevent catastrophic injuries by using your brain to protect your body.”
With grant funding, the VIPs will be able to attend the 2014 Southwest Conference on Disability, to be held Oct. 8-10 in Albuquerque, N.M. The ThinkFirst Navajo team has been selected to deliver a roundtable discussion on “Improving Quality of Life Through Injury Prevention Education, Inspiration & Experience.” The group’s personal injury stories will also be shown as part of the conference’s Disability Film Festival.
In the first six months of 2015, ThinkFirst Navajo will give at least 40 presentations at schools, chapter houses, and conferences on and near the Navajo Nation (in San Juan and McKinley counties), reaching approximately 2,500 students, young adults, and parents. To learn more about the ThinkFirst Navajo program and schedule a presentation, contact Bernice Lefthand, program coordinator, at 928-380-6268 or blefthand@gmail.com.
About Eve’s Fund
Eve’s Fund for Native American Health Initiatives is a non-profit 501 (c)(3) organization that promotes hope and wellness among Native Americans. Dr. Robert M. Crowell founded Eve’s Fund in 2005 in memory of his daughter, Eve Erin Crowell. Since that time, the organization has developed strong community partnerships and created prevention and education programs impacting more than 30,000 Native children and young adults. For more information, go to https://evecrowellsfund.org.
