Taos High students deliver care packages to Taos Pueblo
A group of young women at Taos High School spent the last year preparing a gift for their neighbors on Taos Pueblo, and last Thursday (Oct. 14) they delivered.
The all-girl group of roughly 15 students enrolled in the Interact Club, run by Taos Milagro Rotary Club, dropped off 20 boxes of supplies for Pueblo elders and their families. Each box includes local produce such as fresh cabbage, freshly picked apples, carrots from Cerro Vista Farms, flour, lard, red chile, garlic-infused oil from Red Willow Center and buffalo meat. Pueblo elders also received a bag of “activities” provided by Twirl, which donated art supplies with directions on how to make crafts out of common household waste, like egg cartons. Lastly, each box contained a Pyrex measuring cup.
“Late last year they decided they wanted to do a service project for Taos Pueblo,” said Alix Henry, whose daughter, Helen, is part of the Interact Club. “They had $500 in their account from past fundraising.”
When the Taos Pueblo government heard about the students’ project, it also pitched another $500 and donated the buffalo meat. After the students completed fundraising, they had raised a total of $2,600.
The young women spent hours collecting the goods for each box, purchasing them all from local businesses to keep the money within the community. They worked with Cameron Martinez, director of Taos Pueblo CMS Division of Natural Resources, to arrange delivery last week.
“This is deserving of making Taos County aware of what good is done by our youth here in Taos in collaborating with our Native community,” said Kathryn Herman, co-founder of Heart of Taos. “It’s a win-win for everyone. Congratulations to our Interact students.”