Eve’s Fund for Native American Health Initiatives is proud to announce that its flagship program — ThinkFirst Navajo — has launched a new injury prevention initiative called “Buckle Up Navajo Newborns.” Last week, 50 high-end car seats purchased by Eve’s Fund, were delivered to the Navajo Department of Transportation’s Highway Safety Division.
Previous published news articles have highlighted the fact that one of the highest child mortality rates in the country is on the Navajo Nation with the leading cause of preventable deaths for children coming from motor vehicle crashes.
Leading cause of preventable deaths
According to the Navajo Nation Department of Transportation, only 27 to 30 percent of children are put in car seats or booster seats. Furthermore, given the large size and rural nature of the Navajo Nation and limited number of police officers, law enforcement is nearly impossible.
“So many deaths and injuries of Navajo infants and young children could be prevented just by buckling them up safely in car seats,” said Eve’s Fund president, Barbara Crowell Roy, “and now there can be no reason not to do so.”
We are committed to raising enough funds so that every Navajo newborn can be put in a sturdy car seat. The seats we are purchasing will work for newborns up to children weighing 65 pounds, so parents with limited resources and access won’t have to keep buying new seats as their child grows.
75% of car seats are not properly installed
Jodee Dennison, director of ThinkFirst Navajo, emphasizes that mothers who receive the car seats must be trained by special trainers and notes statistics, which show that up to 75 percent of car seats, are not properly installed.
Norma Bowman, program manager of the Navajo Department of Highway Safety said, “It is a huge benefit when organizations such as Eve’s Fund reach out to assist our traffic safety efforts on Navajo, and we are grateful for this partnership and collaborative effort. Our department, with our staff of National Certified Child Passenger Safety Technicians, will provide the necessary educational resources to ensure that children are properly restrained and receive hands-on instruction for the various stages of their child restraint use. All expectant mothers and anyone else in need of car seats should contact our office at: 505.371.8326.”
Seeking more corporate donors
We are grateful to all of the individuals and organizations that have generously supported us since our inception in 2005. This new injury prevention program—”Buckle Up Navajo Newborns”—will require even greater funding to reach our goal of providing 100 infant seats a year to the Navajo Nation. If you believe in the importance of this cause, please consider making a donation toward this project. Let’s keep Navajo newborns smiling, healthy and alive.
Dalton, MA 01227
About ThinkFirst Navajo
ThinkFirst Navajo is a chapter of ThinkFirst National Injury Prevention Foundation and one of the most active in the country. ThinkFirst Navajo is the only one that operates exclusively on a federally recognized Native American Indian reservation, an area where injury rates are three to four times the national average.
Since the program was started by Eve’s Fund in late 2005, its VIP (Voices for Injury Prevention) speakers — all adult Navajos with paraplegia — have educated more than 56,000 Navajo school children on the Navajo Nation about injury prevention and distributed thousands of safety helmets.
In addition to providing culturally sensitive, free education to schools and youth programs on the Navajo Nation, ThinkFirst Navajo also provides additional peer mentoring, support, and training to the program’s VIP speakers.
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 for Native American youth. Dr. Robert M. Crowell & Barbara Crowell Roy founded Eve’s Fund in 2005 to honor the memory of their daughter, Eve Erin Crowell. Since that time, the organization has developed strong community partnerships and created prevention and education programs impacting almost than 60,000 Native American children and young adults. For more information, go to https://www.evecrowellsfund.org.
