American Indian Youth Running Strong

We're raising the standard of living and self-esteem of Indian reservation children. Teaching traditional and contemporary life skills, healthy lifestyles and respect for Mother Earth. Billy Mills, National Spokesperson.

How do you help people in my community?

We support Indian-led programs in 24 states and the District of Columbia.  These initiatives work to feed people, drill water wells, help make heat and shelter affordable, sustain cultural values and dying languages, serve as a lifeline for at-risk youth, improve health through organic family and community gardens and so much more.  Throughout the numerous programs we sponsor, we witness Indian community’s will to survive and self-sustain as intact Indian nations.  Just like you and me, Indian families want hope for their children. 

Home of our National Spokesperson, Olympic Champion Billy Mills (Oglala Lakota-Sioux), and one of the poorest places in the U.S., we are very involved on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota, working to provide Oglala children with a better future.  Working with local staff and volunteers, we drill water wells and plant organic gardens, provide emergency heating assistance and support efforts to promote self-sufficiency and independence among American Indian children and their families.

We are also building and raising funds for a new Teen Center on the Cheyenne River Sioux Indian Reservation in South Dakota.  In 1999, together with CRYP, we built the “Billy Mills” youth center (“The Main”), a true place of “hope for an entire reservation,” according to its Executive Director, Julie Garreau (Cheyenne River Lakota).  With a staggering seventeen youth suicides on the Cheyenne River reservation from 2002-2003 and the alcohol-related death rate of American Indian youth 17 times that of all other ethnic groups, a safe place dedicated to teens in this rural and impoverished community is greatly needed.  This new teen center will house outreach programs for teens once they “outgrow” activities for younger kids, keeping the hope that is the Billy Mills Youth Center alive and allowing it to grow with the young adults and future of Cheyenne River.  A Grand Opening is planned for summer 2006.

On the Crow Indian Reservation in Montana, working with the Center Pole Foundation, we helped build the “A LI MI A” youth entrepreneurial center.  A LI MI A means “a place to go to get help to help yourself” in the Crow language.  Here Crow children come to learn job skills, how to manage their money or expand their horizons.  The center recently hosted a vegetable day after learning most of their children could not recognize common vegetables that other Americans eat each day.  Prizes were awarded as the kids learned about eating healthy vegetables and, for picky eaters, for every new food they tried!

Each of these programs above is a snapshot of the investment and effort that Running Strong makes in reservation communities.  For more examples of where we work and what we do, please see our website, http://www.indianyouth.org/ href="http://www.indianyouth.org/">www.indianyouth.org.

Why do you need my support?

Your support is crucial.  To drill our goal of 13 new water wells a year on Pine Ridge, we need CFC donations.  To finish building the Cheyenne River Youth Project’s Teen Center, we need CFC donations.  To help the Euchee’s save their language, we need CFC donations.  We rely on the donations of thousands of generous Americans who care about our American Indian children.  Your gift of money, no matter how much, is significant.  Hundreds of CFC pledges add up!  And with your pledge of support, we can leverage those funds by applying to larger foundations or corporations for their support.  With your donation, we can build the new dialysis clinics, provide family organic gardens, dig over 330 water wells and teach Indian children to follow their dreams. 

Moreover, your CFC pledge and Running Strong’s programs show American Indians that they are not forgotten, that they have friends and that their culture and language are respected and admired.  American Indian Youth Running Strong is considered one of the best, if not the very best, charity working with American Indians.  Consistently, over 90% of our donations are used directly for our programs in the field helping American Indian families solve their own problems.

How can I be sure that you will use my money wisely and won't waste it?

We also meet all of the Standards for Charity Accountability established by the BBB Wise Giving Alliance, a national charity watchdog affiliated with the Better Business Bureau system. The Alliance and its predecessor organizations have over a century of combined experience in charity evaluation.  Unlike other charity monitoring groups that focus solely on a review of charity finances, the BBB Wise Giving Alliance completes comprehensive, in-depth evaluations of the charity's governance, fund raising practices, solicitations and informational materials, as well as how it spends its money (http://www.give.org/ href="http://www.give.org/">www.give.org).

Moreover, every September we sponsor a donor Tour of the Pine Ridge and Cheyenne River Sioux Indian Reservations, where you can visit some of our many programs.  While on the tour, you can learn first-hand how your donations are making a positive difference and that the money is spent wisely. 

As a participant from Columbia, SC wrote about last year’s Running Strong Tour:  "The 15th Annual Reservation Tour surpassed our expectations.  Donna and I came back extremely impressed by the efficiency and effectiveness of the Running Strong programs, the dedication of the staff, the wisdom of such individuals as Tom Kanatakeniate Cook, Joe American Horse, Milo Yellow Hair and Harry Charger, and the pressing needs of the people on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.  And we were extremely impressed by the graciousness, modesty and idealism of the spokesperson, Billy Mills...  We left South Dakota agreed that Running Strong will henceforth rank among our favorite charities."

Please consider joining us next year!  For more information about the Running Strong Tour, please see our website at http://www.indianyouth.org

Can I Volunteer? How?

Are you a federal, military or state government worker?

We would like volunteers to help with our CFC efforts by passing out our brochures to their federal workplace colleagues, and/or attend their workplace’s CFC fair on our behalf.  We do not have a lot of money for expensive advertising, so please email us at title=mailto:info@indianyouth.org href="mailto:info@indianyouth.org">info@indianyouth.org to request material to hand out in your workplace or at your workplace CFC fair to help us get the word out about the many needs in Indian Country and our efforts to meet them! And, every volunteer gets a free Running Strong t-shirt!