“They are young once but Indian Forever”
Welcome Daughters
Susan Johnson Gillespie
American Indians Chairman
2016-2018
During my administration I will be focusing on raising money not only for the American Indian Fund but also for the Indian Youth Camp. This is going to be my focus for the next 2 DAR years. I would love for our State to raise enough funds to send at least one child to the August 2017 and 2018 camps. I plan to pass the sock at each meeting of my own chapter to collect everyone’s loose change. I also plan to sell some of my Indian Beaded Jewelry in my online store to raise money.
Not everyone eats Blizzards from Dairy Queen nor Lattes from Starbucks but if we can forgo just 1 of those this year (2016-2017) per daughter that would be enough for our state to cover the cost for many young ladies to attend the camp.
The statistics for Indian Youth ages 14-20, that are in some sort of danger is unimaginable. Fifty percent of the children 14-18 are obese, one in four, are addicted to drugs or alcohol, and 1 in 15 will try to commit suicide before they reach 21 years of age. These are sad statistics for OUR first Americans to be facing. I hope as a Chapter and a State that we will be able to make a difference in at least one life.
Our slogan for the campaign will be their slogan:
“They are young once but Indian Forever. To watch a wonderful video about the camp made by the campers go here: Indian Youth Camp Video . For more general information about the camp and its history go here: Indian Youth of America
When presenting to your local chapter you may want to use these bullet points.
• These children have very low self esteem
• They learn team skills to help them in their adult life
• Give up just one small pleasure a month to donate your change to this cause
• Decorate a big sock and use it to collect your change until next June
• Print the brochure located on my blog to hand out at your Chapter meetings > susangillespie.net
Please contact me if you need inspiration or other ideas for this project.
REMEMBER there is a Chapter Award at the State Conference for this project
Thank you all for you help and inspiration.
For God, Home and Country
