CORE Helps At the Navajo Nation Health Fair

CORE Helps at the Navajo Nation Health Fair

On September 3, 2025, CORE had the honor of partnering with 4Kinship to help put on the Good Medicine event at Gorman Hall in Window Rock, the capital of the Navajo Nation. During this event, two thousand skateboards, thousands of shoes, and plenty of family goods, like diapers and wet wipes, were distributed to children and families in attendance.

CORE’s team managed logistics and event setup. On the back end, CORE ensured that the shipment of 7,000 pairs of shoes donated by Native Shoes arrived at the event on time. The team on the ground in the Navajo Nation then helped plan logistics and event setup in Gorman Hall to ensure that attendees could safely and efficiently receive the items they were there for.

A woman hand a child a pair of donated shoes at a distribution event on Navajo Nation.

A CORE voluneteer passing out skateboards at a distribution event in Window Rock.

CORE team member unloads boxes of shoes using a fork lift.

A mother is handed a pair of shoes from a volunteer.

The event received the support of the Navajo Nation President, Buu Nygren, who came out to meet with the children and families at the event. He even pulled out some of his old skate tricks, much to the amusement of the kids watching, who’d just grabbed boards of their own.

CORE's Ongoing Support of Navajo Nation

This wasn’t the first time that CORE has worked in the Navajo Nation. During our COVID-19 response, we distributed 62,000 COVID-19 tests while supporting contact tracing. Believing in holistic approaches, CORE, in coordination with World Central Kitchen, established Points of Distribution (PODs) to provide the community with additional resources that included food kits that contained a month’s worth of dry goods, fruits, and vegetables. CORE also built 341 shelters across the Navajo Nation for the most vulnerable elders to proactively shield them from COVID-19.

CORE has also worked closely with 4Kinship on the Diné Skate Garden project, which aims to improve health outcomes among Diné youth by encouraging them to get outside and be active.

CORE supported the completion of the Two Grey Hills community skatepark in the Navajo Nation. The skatepark opened in late 2023 with much fanfare, featuring professional skateboarders such as Tony Hawk in attendance.

Today, the skatepark fosters an ever-growing community of riders of all ages who are getting out there, tearing it up, staying active, and engaging in their community. Through this most recent event, we hope that even more Diné youth will be inspired to start skating and all the benefits of the active lifestyle that come with it.

To learn more about CORE’s work on the Navajo Nation, please visit our response page.