Yee Ha’ólníi Doo DBA Navajo & Hopi Families COVID-19 Relief Fund was recently determined to be a public charity, non-profit organization with 501(c)(3) status by the Internal Revenue Service. “Now that we’re officially a non-profit organization, our donors can have confidence that their financial contributions to our organization are tax-deductible,” Interim Yee Ha’ólníi Doo Executive Director Mary Francis said. The organization has provided direct relief while strengthening the Navajo and Hopi communities throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. To date, Yee Ha’ólníi Doo has dedicated over $12 million in funds through direct relief initiatives to the Navajo and Hopi nations during the worst phases of the pandemic. Yee Ha’ólníi Doo has distributed over 10 million masks and served over 500,000 elderly, immunocompromised, and vulnerable Navajo and Hopi people. The organization has trained over 30 teams which comprised a network of almost 1,300 Navajo and Hopi volunteers. The team has also implemented a vaccination campaign that reached over 807,000 Navajo and Hopi people and worked with grassroots NGOs to provide firewood to the elderly. Yee Ha’ólníi Doo is strengthening communities to be pandemic-proof and climate-changing resilient by implementing critical programming specific to food security, entrepreneurship, youth leadership, and housing. The organization has launched community centers that serve as local innovation hubs to infuse rural communities with resources that will cultivate resilience and social connectedness. Both the Tsé Bii’ Ndzisgai Community Center and the Tooh Haltsooi Community Center feature resources like high-speed Starlink broadband, which addresses the lack of wireless connectivity in rural communities. These centers enhance the natural leadership and entrepreneurship that exists in community members. Yee Ha’ólníi Doo Deputy Director Cassandra Begay said this will help build the next generation of advocates and build back a stronger nation. “Many of our community members do not have access to basic infrastructure like clean running water, internet, healthcare services, or housing. I believe the future can be better and we are ready to advance our work to serve our communities,” Begay said.
