Linda Rowe
When PebbleCreek (PC) Quilters Club president, Ronda Jones, was interviewed by Ted Simons of “Arizona Horizons” on Channel 8 for the social connections segment, she was pleased to highlight the various charitable contributions the club has made to hospitals, hospice, chemotherapy transfusion centers, and other local charities. You can view her interview at https://bit.ly/3fBesdB. Her interview focused on the more than 5,000 masks club members have made for local charities and members of the PC community.
At the conclusion of the interview, she was surprised that Mr. Simons closed by saying, “So if anyone is in need of a mask, email Ronda at [email protected]” and placed the email address on screen. For members watching the show, the first thought was “Oh my goodness, we will never be able to address requests for all of Phoenix.” Fortunately, Ronda did not receive hundreds of email requests. However, she did receive one really big request.
The call came from Christy Vezolles, a member of the Shawnee Nation. She was married at one time to a Navajo Nation member. She moved to Tuba City in 1990 and raised five step-children while employed at Tuba City Greyhills Academy. She now lives in Phoenix and is a Trustee for the Heard Museum, which is recognized internationally for the quality of its collections, world-class exhibitions, and educational programming dedicated to the advancement of American Indian art. Christy informed Ronda she has been trying to assist the Navajo Nation which continues to struggle with obtaining needed supplies to address COVID-19. And, this was before the case count in other areas of Arizona surged thousands of cases/per day.
The Navajo Nation is one of the largest Native American Nations in the United States, with nearly 300,000 members. As reported in azcentral.com, the Navajo Nation spans over 27,000 square miles across three states—northern Arizona, northwestern New Mexico, and southern Utah. According to their website, www.ndoh.navajo-nsn.gov, nearly 40,000 residents have been tested with thousands of positive results which continue to increase daily. They have suffered hundreds of deaths. Weekend curfews are often put in place from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. Like many other U.S. states/cities, supplies have been difficult to acquire.
Ronda called an emergency board meeting and asked members if they would support this request since this is outside of our local community. The board voted unanimously to assist the Navajo Nation by making masks. There are three ways members of the PC Community can assist in this effort: 1. Purchase raffle tickets for the 2020 opportunity quilt at www.pebblecreekquilters.org; 2. Email Ronda at the address noted above to make a donation; and 3. Donate directly to the Navajo Nation COVID-19 Relief Fund at www.nndoh.org/donate.html.