Other exciting news that we have to share, Eric, who works in the warehouse in South Dakota, has almost completed his CDL classes. This is great news because it means that we will be able to have all three tractor trailers and our box truck out on the road delivering throughout the week. Food, clothing, etc will be arriving to the Reservations quicker since we will have an extra truck on the road.

I wanted to send this email to you today not only to let you know about some of the positive things that have been happening around the Reservations and with NAHA but also the emergency requests that we need your help with. We have hundreds of Native American families living on the Reservations in South Dakota who urgently need Emergency Vouchers to buy food, gas, medicine and heating fuel.

School will be closing soon for the summer months and without the schools to supply it, many children will go without breakfast and lunch. So the Emergency Vouchers will help fill this gap during the summer months. Anything you can contribute will help provide for homeless families, elderly men and women and Native American mothers with infant sons and daughters who need medical attention, milk and diapers. So, do you see how much your help is needed, not just by NAHA but by the families and elders living on the Reservations? I know you will be the generous and caring person we at NAHA know you are and help provide Emergency Vouchers to the Native Americans who are in dire need of help just to survive day to day.

We have such a huge demand for baby products such as diapers, formula, etc. and we can’t always get these items but when we do they go very fast. So if you know anyone who has these items who no longer needs them please ship them to our warehouse at: NAHA, 12085 Quaal Rd. Black Hawk, SD 57718.

As you all know Easter is right around the corner and I am sure you and your family have special plans for that day whether it’s having dinner together or just spending time with each other. We need your help to make sure Native American families are able to celebrate Easter with their families and enjoy this day by providing them with all the makings of a traditional Easter dinner. I know that this day is not about eating good food but about spending time with your love ones, the dinner just makes it a little bit more special and ensures that they will not go hungry on this day of happiness and also gives them food for days after.

But by purchasing in bulk and using our own trucks to deliver the food, we can provide a nutritious meal for a family of five for just $30.00. We are hoping to provide dinners for 1,500 families which is why we desperately need your help so we can fulfill our goal and make sure Native Americans can enjoy this day just like you and I will. Remember, we can’t do this without caring and generous donors like yourself. Please help NAHA help the Native Americans so we can provide them with a nice meal for Easter. Thank you for all your support and for wanting to help others who are in need.

You can see their daily struggles but also how much they appreciate what NAHA (which we couldn’t do without the help of our caring donors like you) does to help them get by day to day. Also give them hope which a lot of them have given up on. We can’t fix every single problem on the Reservations but we can make it better for them by keeping them warm on blistering cold nights, putting food in their stomachs when they haven’t eaten in days, clothing them when all they have is thread-bare clothing left and just showing we care makes a big difference.

When we provide them with paper towels, toilet paper, laundry detergent, hygiene products, etc. it makes for one less thing they have to worry about buying when they don’t even have money for gas to get to the grocery store. I hope this video helps you understand the conditions on the Reservations and makes you realize that this is happening in our own back yard and something needs to be done about it. NAHA would like to thank DreamMaker Nation for providing such a heart moving, emotional video for us to share and put awareness out there so we can help the situation get better.

Right now on the Reservations in South Dakota it’s extremely cold with temperatures dropping below zero and whipping winds making it feel even colder. Native American families huddle in the living room because it’s the only room they can keep warm but even that’s about to end because their fuel is about to run out or they have nothing left to burn. These families include small children, teenagers and senior citizens. I couldn’t imagine watching any of my family members freezing to death and there was nothing I could do about it because we couldn’t afford anymore fuel to put in our stove or tank. This kind of situation happens everyday on the Reservations during the winter months. So I am pleading with you today to donate any amount you can afford which will be used to purchase stoves and fuel vouchers to keep their homes warm. $90.00 will purchase one stove and $100.00 will help fill up a propane tank at least half way which will last them about a month. Thank you for being such a generous and caring person and for helping save a life on the Reservations in South Dakota.

Native American Heritage Association is a charitable non-profit organization dedicated to helping Native American families in need living on the Reservations of South Dakota. NAHA was started in 1993 by David G. Myers after a visit to the Reservations in South Dakota.

After seeing the plight and conditions that Native Americans were trying to cope with on a daily basis, Mr. Myers knew he had to do something to help them. So the mission began to help as many Native American families and children on the Crow Creek, Lower Brule, Pine Ridge and Rosebud Reservations with basic life necessities and self-help programs. Over the years, we have provided much needed hope and dignity to many of the deserving Native Americans that needed a helping hand.

Since 1993, through the loyalty of our donors, NAHA has continued to grow. We provide food, clothing, heating assistance and self-help programs to the Native American families struggling to make ends meet each month. Last year, NAHA delivered 3,183,475 pounds of food and 286,308 pounds of clothing. Please consider making a charitable donation to NAHA or to assure that we can maintain our regular programs, you may wish to consider something more permanent such as a monthly donation.

So that you can be assured that your money is being used wisely, NAHA has received our 7th consecutive 4-star charity rating with www.charitynavigator.org for our financially sound charity practices and that 94% of our revenue goes toward our charity programs. We are the only Native American charity organization with this rating for that length of time.

This month our food trucks have delivered fresh pears, meats, assorted drinks, food and various life necessity products. Also the vans that we purchased thanks to United Auto Workers should be arriving any time now.

As you all may know the holidays are rapidly approaching and we need your help to purchase Thanksgiving turkeys for the families who would otherwise go without any food at all on Thanksgiving Day. Just as you and I enjoy spending the day with our families and enjoying a nice, hot dinner, so do the Native Americans who struggle to survive day to day. Our goal is to purchase 1,500 turkeys for the families living on the Reservations so they can enjoy at least one day without having to worry if they are going to have anything to eat. The nice thing about it is they will take the bones from the turkey and make soup from it which will last them for days. So not only will they have food guaranteed for one day but they will have something to eat days after.

The parents of Native American children won’t have to tell them, “sorry kids all we have to eat is stale bread and tap water to drink,” if that for Thanksgiving dinner because caring donors like you have helped provide them a hot, nourishing meal. Any amount will help so if you could donate whatever you can afford it will be much appreciated by the families who won’t go hungry this Thanksgiving because of you. Again, Native American Heritage Association is so grateful to have such caring and generous donors like you; otherwise we wouldn’t be able to do what we do today. We would like to wish you and your family a Happy Thanksgiving!!!

There are still many harsh realities occurring on the Reservations which include:
– Over 80% unemployment;
– Not enough food to last through the end of the month;
– Ramshackle housing with little or no insulation to fend off the cold;
– No money to buy medicine or gasoline to run emergency errands; and
– Threadbare clothing that gives little protection against harsh blizzard winds.

These are just a few of the reasons why we are in dire need of your help so we can purchase Emergency Vouchers to help them get through the frigid, below freezing winter months. NAHA’s Emergency Voucher program allows cold and hungry Native American families to purchase food for their children, heat their homes during the bitterly cold winter months and care for the elders. It’s hard to keep up with the rising demand for vouchers for essentials like food, clothing and propane for heating stoves. Our Emergency Vouchers are as good as cash at grocery stores, fuel depots and other merchants and are to be used only for the greatest need of Native American families.

So I am asking for your immediate help to raise the Emergency Voucher program to the $50,000 needed to help spare reservation families horrible suffering this winter. Please donate whatever amount you can spare so that Native American families will be able to acquire food, clothing and fuel for their stoves to make it through the most dangerous time of the year for them, WINTER. NAHA wants to show our appreciation by saying THANK YOU for being the kind and generous donor you are!

NAHA is sending you this letter because we need your help acquiring food that will be delivered to the hungry families on the Reservations in South Dakota. In 2010 we were delivering on average 265,335 pounds of food per month and had many requests for more assistance. It sounds like a lot of food, but we serve 90,000 people, so in 2010 it equaled out to 3 pounds per person. Because of rising fuel costs, which everyone is being affected by, and our semi’s only averaging 5.3 miles per gallon, our food distribution is being forced to cut back on deliveries.

But with astute selection and negotiation, NAHA has been able to get very good values for your contributions which is why www.charitynavigator.org rates NAHA as a four-star charity for 7 consecutive years. If you could send $15.00 now, I can get 500 pounds of food or $30.00 will get 1,000 pounds of food. It is the same food that you or I would get at our local grocery store. Please send your contribution of whatever you can afford because unfortunately 2 out of 10 Native American families are hungry right now. We need your help today and so do the families on the Reservations who are without food at this moment, so please don’t hesitate to send whatever you can afford to NAHA today so we can hurry and deliver food to these Native American families who are in need!

For the month of April we received more Wal-Mart loads filled with various items such as paper towels, toilet paper, soap, clothing, etc. We received our last load of Tempur Pedic mattresses which have been a blessing to the Native Americans. It’s wonderful to know that they have a nice, comfortable clean bed to sleep on instead of sleeping on the hard, cold floor. We also received a load of various children’s books, which will be great for the schools on the Reservations. We delivered clothing and food to the reservations which consisted of bread, water, potatoes, cabbage, soups, canned goods and other assorted food.

As you are aware, winter doesn’t end till the last part of May on the Reservations. This is why NAHA is pleading for your help. For the months of November through March we deposit funds with the St. Francis Energy Company, thanks to generous donors like you. We just sent what would be the final check for the bitter cold winter, but unfortunately the Native Americans are still being hammered with temperatures below freezing, ice storms and snow. The Sioux are a proud people, they don’t want to rely on others for essentials like food, clothes for their children or propane to heat their homes, until they have to face reality that they have nowhere else to turn. Native Americans have to face other harsh realities of Reservation life:

> 80% unemployment;
> Not enough food to last through the end of the month;
> Poor housing with little or no insulation;
> No heat in their homes to ward off the cold; and,
> No money to buy medicine, clothing or other basics you and I might take for granted.

So you see this is why I am asking for your help and to donate whatever amount you can afford to NAHA so we will be able to purchase more emergency vouchers for the Native Americans so they can get through the last part of this harsh winter. So please, donate today so we can get emergency vouchers out to the Native Americans immediately!!!

We were very fortunate to acquire truck loads of insulation and shingles that were delivered to the housing authorities, which will allow them to make desperately needed repairs to the homes of Native Americans on the Reservations. Furniture that consisted of tables, chairs, couches and bed frames were delivered to the Rosebud Dorms, senior centers and community centers. We also delivered bottled water, fresh fruits, vegetables, breads and meats to the Reservations.

I’m sure everyone is aware that Easter is about a month away, which is why NAHA is asking if you will find it in your heart to send your best possible contribution today so that Native Americans and their families will be able to sit down and enjoy a hot, nourishing meal on Easter. NAHA is hoping to provide 1,500 families with all the makings for a festive Easter dinner. The cost to make this all possible is $45,000. That’s why we need your help immediately with Easter being right around the corner. By purchasing in bulk we can provide a nutritious Easter dinner for a family of five for $30. So please, won’t you send your most generous contribution today so that Native American families will be able to enjoy a nice festive Easter dinner this year. None of this would be possible if it wasn’t for generous donors like you. NAHA wants to wish you and your family a very Happy Easter!!!

The cold, harsh winter is still wreaking havoc on the Reservations with well below freezing temperatures, blistering winds, and snow with most day time temperatures staying in the negative degrees. So can you imagine it being that cold and not having any source of heat in your home? This is the way it is for many Native American families with children and elderly living in their homes. It’s hard to even think anyone has to suffer like this. This is why NAHA has Operation Winter Rescue so we can help out as many families as possible. NAHA funds a special voucher account at St. Francis Energy Company. Emergency vouchers are then distributed by tribal leaders to families with the greatest need and are then “cashed in” for free propane. Each voucher is worth $100.00 which isn’t enough to fill up a propane tank but at least enough to keep them warm through most of the month. I am telling you this so that you will help out a Native American family in need of a warm house to live in. NAHA wants to help out as many families as possible, but we can’t do this without your help. So please, won’t you help and send whatever amount you can afford to NAHA’s Operation Winter Rescue?