Donating has never been easier. Bayfield-area residents will be able to support the Navajo Nation without even leaving their cars Saturday during a curbside supply drive hosted by the nonprofit Friends of the Pine River Library.
The nonprofit group has joined a nationwide push to support the Navajo Nation, which spans three states and has one of the most severe coronavirus outbreaks, per capita, in the United States. The effort gained traction after a grassroots organization, Protect the Sacred, released a celebrity-packed video call for help. Cathy Enns, a Friends of the Library volunteer ready to re-engage in her community, decided to answer the call.
“People have been wanting to help out, just based on what we saw on televised news, but didn’t know how to do it,” Enns said.
She saw a Durango Herald article describing San Juan College’s supply drive Monday through Saturday. People can drop off donations at a semitrailer parked on the main campus in Farmington between the West Classroom Complex and the Henderson Fine Arts Center Building.
The Bayfield volunteers plan to hold a drive-by supply collection at Pine River Library from 8 to 10 a.m. Saturday. Then they will take donations to the semitrailer at San Juan College.
“We’re excited. We don’t know how it’s going to go,” Enns said.
Community members can bring pet food, nonperishable foods, baby necessities (like diapers, wipes and formula), liquid hand soap, toilet paper and other materials.
The nonprofit asked community members to leave donations in their vehicle’s trunks or back seats. Community members can stay in their cars while volunteers, wearing masks and gloves, transfer the donations. Enns expected interactions to be short but encouraged the public to wear masks and gloves as well.
“Cathy is a force behind any project, any idea going forward,” said Shelley Walchak, library director. “This is just another example of the kind of work the Friends do.”
The supply drive is the Bayfield group’s first event since it shut down operations in early March. It’s also the first event held at the Pine River Library since the library began to reopen some in-person services Monday after closing in March.
The reopenings have offered volunteers and library staff an opportunity to connect after weeks of isolation.
“It just feels really good, in this little two-hour window, to be able to see some people we know and to feel like we’re helping out,” Enns said.
Library staff are also ready to engage with their communities, Walchak said.
The library has completed its self-certification process, required by Safer La Plata, to outline safety standards before reopening. It launched a curbside materials service Monday, which allows community members to pick up and return library materials while following social-distancing and sanitation guidelines.
“The fact that we can start to see these people that we have such connections with is really wonderful,” Walchak said. “We’re hoping we don’t have to go backwards in any way, so we’re following all of the guidelines that the state and the county have put forth.”
smullane@durangoherald.com
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