Indigenous Initiatives

Solar power installations

Our coworker and friend, Mylo Fowler, has been instrumental in leading the charge for solar power in Navajo Nation. We expanded our impact by installing solar panels in homes, enabling families to charge their school-issued devices, and providing light for homework and reading after sunset. This initiative is making a tangible difference in the lives of Indigenous students and families, empowering them to thrive in their educational journey.

Holistic education experiences

We believe in the power of holistic education. We’re dedicated to building state-of-the-art education environments, including STEAM Labs and Peace & Meditation Centers, in Indigenous schools. We’re creating vibrant community spaces such as public libraries, recreation centers, and play and sport facilities. This ensures that learning can advance via a strong continuum of home, school, and community locations outside of the traditional school day.

This video highlights how solar power is transforming daily life for families across Navajo Nation.

Watch a recap of a project in Southern Utah where we assembled distance learning kits, battery lights, and much more.

In phase 2 of the project in Southern Utah, volunteers and staff put together over 1700 distance learning kits.

Watch how a photographer took his love of photography to do some good in his community.

See how organizers and volunteers answered the call to bring distance learning kits in New Mexico.

When the pandemic closed classrooms, more than 46,000 Navajo children were displaced from school to their homes. While distance learning was hard on families across the country, for those in Indigenous communities — where access to resources like power and running water is not a given — the disparities were unimaginable.

Through the help of corporate and community partners nationwide, we supported distance learning for over 10,000 students and families through a multi-phased effort focused on critical resources like basic school supplies, art materials, and solar-powered lanterns to enable learning after dark.

Today, our impact has expanded to installing solar panels in homes to ensure families can charge their school-issued Chromebooks and devices and read stories once the sun goes down.

Our current and near-term priorities in Navajo Nation (as well as other Indigenous communities across the country) are focused on ensuring students have access to the resources they need to thrive in school and beyond. These efforts include:

• Install solar panels in homes across the Navajo Nation so children can have light to do their homework and a place to charge their school-issued laptops
• Provide family learning kits including age-appropriate books and educational games so learning can continue at home among multiple generations.
• Outside of the home, we’re committed to building state-of-the-art education environments in schools like STEAM Labs and Peace & Meditation Centers and creating vibrant community spaces such as public libraries, recreation centers, and play and sports facilities so that learning can advance via a strong continuum of home, school and community locations outside of the school day.