Like so many other organizations, we were unsure how to go about our annual events. In 2020, many of our events were canceled for the safety of our youth and communities. However, we were able to host NB3FIT Week and our NB3FIT Community XC Race virtually!
“We are so thankful we had the ability to go virtual and that our Native youth and communities, near and far, showed up and participated,” Cyanne Lujan, director of advancement said. “Though we couldn’t see our community members in person for the race, going virtual allowed everyone the opportunity to participate no matter where they live.”
NB3 Foundation has been hosting NB3FIT Week every November since 2016. NB3FIT Week has always been a week-long initiative dedicated to getting Native youth and communities healthy and active! Each year, NB3 Foundation calls on Native organizations and tribes to host health and fitness events for their youth and community members. This year, Native communities across the country hosted their own virtual and socially-distanced events that provided their community the opportunity to stay active while staying SAFE.
Going virtual for the NB3FIT Virtual XC Race was also a new scene for the NB3 Foundation, and served as a great learning experience for the years to come.
“Going forward, I think we will always provide the virtual aspect,” Lujan said. “We learned this is a great way to be inclusive of Native youth and communities who cannot travel and participate in person.”
We especially want to recognize the organizations, communities and families that joined us for our virtual events. For the first time, NB3 Foundation provided instructional videos to participants to help promote physical activity and healthy nutrition during NB3FIT Week.
“Like everyone else, we were limited on what we could do safely this year. We tried our best and were able to try some new things this year with the videos and NB3FIT Week Bingo,” Lujan said. “We look forward to learning from 2020 and making 2021 an even better experience for Native youth and families.”
