Colorado Springs nonprofit brings holiday cheer to tribal reservations

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- Local nonprofit, One Nation Walking Together, prepares all year to bring donations to reservations across eight states, as well as their clients in the Pikes Peak region.

One Nation Walking Together (ONWT) donates everything from food staples, to appliances, to furniture -- along with brand new holiday gifts for indigenous people.

"We start preparing up when we get back from our Christmas break," ONWT's Executive Director Kathy Turzi said. "Christmas is something that we start setting aside all the new items for year round, we don't send anything used at Christmas time."

They accept a variety of donations throughout the year, waiting to make large deliveries to reservations.

"We just served a community... where 90% of the people don't have indoor plumbing or electricity," Turzi said, adding that they often bring supplies like cleaning products or nonperishable food, so people living on those reservations can use government funding for things like milk or gasoline.

They also bring Christmas gifts to reservations. They also will gather donations and gifts together for reservations to pick up if they're willing to make the trip to Colorado Springs.

"Christmas is quite often a blessing to send maybe something that somebody has never had before -- new item, a new toy, new clothing, new blankets..." Turzi said.

They partner with other organizations and businesses locally to put up Christmas trees around town with ornaments that hold donation need slips. Their partners, like Hooked on Books, will gather donations for ONWT to distribute.

For Turzi, who's worked with ONWT for 15 years, being able to bring supplies and gifts to indigenous people is a gift all of its own.

"I get the privilege to serve another culture and they share so much to me by teaching me about their culture," she said. "That learning experience just has no value that you can express, it's just the probably the biggest gift I've ever been given in my life."

Turzi is also passionate about educating the community more around indigenous issues.

"There's often people who don't know that there are natives on reservations still living there, there's so much to learn," she said. "Quite often, you're not learning it in your history books in school. You can just reach out to so many different places and resources to find out about the native people."

If you want to learn more about what type of donations ONWT is accepting right now, click here to see their latest list posted to Facebook.

If you're interested in learning more about ONWT's mission or getting involved, click here to access their website.