What We Do
Creative Arts
Musical Motivation
Youth Booths
We host booths sporadically throughout the year in public markets to improve accessibility to experiences that cultivate independent thinking and social solutions.
It serves as our means to increase youth outreach on a public platform to those at remote locations within a 30 mile radius and those outside of our direct audience in Fort Defiance, Arizona.
We do this is in hopes to engage each potential participant and their families with unique, creative, and expressive learning activity kits that will nurture their basic physical and social needs and will help them to express themselves, build self-esteem, have positive behaviors, and live a creative lifestyle.
Little Free Library
Like Rez Refuge, Little Free Library is a non-profit organization that encourages communities to read more by providing book exchange boxes around the world. With this Little Free Library placed in the Rio Puerco and Black Rock Acres neighborhood, everyone and anyone can now take a book of their liking or share a book, maybe a book you already read that is sitting on your bookshelf collecting dust can now be someone else’s enjoyment. We love what Little Free Library is doing because unlike others who live in larger cities and have access to libraries at every corner, we now can visit our local Little Free Library and will have access to books. Here is where we as a community can come together to share books.
Background
After learning what Little Free Library was= about, we were determined to place one in the Rio Puerco and Black Rock neighborhood. After months of preparation with our very own teen participants, Rez Refuge held the grand opening of our “Little Free Library” in October of 2019.
The free book-exchange box was placed in the front yard of Rez Refuge Community Center in Fort Defiance, AZ. During the grand opening guest speakers and community leaders all shared inspiring messages for the community. Over thirty plus community members came to witness the ribbon cutting and enjoyed a fun-filled day of reading books.
Today Rez Refuge’s Little Free Library serves the surrounding Rio Puerco and Black Rock Acres neighborhood and local communities encouraging everyone small or tall to stop by and borrow and share a book.
This wonderful Little Free Library will:
- Give access to books for all ages, near and far on the Navajo Reservation.
- Encourage a sense of community, also encourage reading and literacy for all ages.
- Promote sharing ideas and knowledge.
"I wish when I was young, there was a Little Free Library or libraries around the rez so that I had access to books. I am excited that going forward our children and generations to come will be able to experience what a Little Free Library is."
