Page 6 - Donlin Fall Newsletter

COVID-19 COMMUNITY SUPPORT
By Rebecca Wilmarth
As COVID-19 became a growing concern across Alaska, Donlin Gold’s Community Relations team immediately mobilized a response plan to support communities across the Yukon-Kuskokwim region. The team focused outreach efforts on contacting Tribal offices, City Governments, local business owners and numerous stakeholders throughout the region to learn what concerns or needs they might have with the impending pandemic. Data was collected from every Y-K region community that included the population totals, number of households, number
Photo by Alyssa Gregory
of households with and without water and sewer, and number of Elders, single parents and at-risk individuals.
One of the primary concerns heard throughout the region was the slowed transportation of mail and freight following the termination of RAVN Alaska’s service. Villages relied heavily on the service for obtaining groceries and supplies. With the possibility of villages having to shelter-in-place while also preparing some communities for potential flooding, the need for basic essentials such as personal protective equipment (PPE), food and hygiene products was clearly expressed across numerous communities.
Donlin Gold responded to the concerns of the region in a number of ways. The first effort through the partnership with JOANN Fabrics and Crafts of Wasilla was the ordering, packaging and shipping hundreds of mask-making kits
to the 56 Yukon-Kuskokwim region communities as well as Grayling, Holy Cross, Anvik and Shageluk. The mask kits were handed out at the Tribal offices to local seamstresses, then sewn and distributed to Elders and those who are immunocompromised.
Following the mask kit project, the team immediately began planning a large-scale food distribution in partnership with The Kuskokwim Corporation (TKC). Nearly 500 households within TKC villages, along with McGrath, Nikolai and Takotna, received a box containing a variety of nutritious shelf-stable foods. Many helping hands aided in the success of the food distribution, including Kuik Run Store, Aniak Traditional Council, Lake and Peninsula Airlines, Ryan Air and several local community leaders.
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