Native Small Business Association Helps Bring Awareness to Diabetes Epidemic in Native Youth
WASHINGTON, July 9, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ --The Native American Contractors Association (NACA) is pleased to announce that on November 11, 2013, during its upcoming first annual conference in Palm Springs, California, it will host a golf tournament to raise funds for the Notah Begay III Foundation (NB3F) which supports Native youth programs. Held at the Indian Wells Golf Resort in Palm Springs, California, all proceeds from the tournament will directly benefit NB3F.
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"I am grateful for NACA's commitment to NB3F's mission of preventing type 2 diabetes among Native American children," said Notah Begay. "This partnership highlights the positive steps that are being taken by Native organizations to ensure that continuous improvements are made in the lives of Native Americans of all ages. NACA's support through its upcoming first annual golf event exemplifies their leadership and vision in making positive changes in the health and well-being of Native communities most valuable resources: our children."
With passion, the NB3F has tirelessly worked to educate Native communities on the importance of healthy lifestyles. The golf tournament is scoped to accommodate over 140 players from across the United States, with the goal of bringing greater awareness to the type 2 diabetes epidemic that currently plagues today's Native American youth.
"As childhood obesity rises in Indian Country and diseases like childhood type 2 diabetes become more prevalent, it is more important than ever to pull our community efforts together to stop a disease grossly affecting our youth," said NACA Executive Director Kevin Allis.
According to a 2010 Indian Health Service study, Native American and Alaska Native youth are nine (9) times more likely to develop type 2 diabetes than their Caucasian counterparts. Additionally, between 1990 - 2009 there was a 110 percent increase in type 2 diabetes diagnoses in Native American and Alaska Native youth between the ages of 15-19 years old.
"NACA is proud to support the Notah Begay III Foundation and the passion it brings to building a positive and healthy future for Native youth," Allis said.
Registration for the golf tournament is now open; please visit www.nativecontractors.org for more information.
To learn more or make a donation to the NB3F, visit www.nb3foundation.org.
Native American Contractors Association
NACA is a national Native advocacy organization based in Washington, D.C., and represents Tribal, Alaska Native Corporations, and Native Hawaiian Organizations across the country. NACA seeks to protect the economic self-sufficiency of America's indigenous people that is enhanced through the participation of its members in the SBA 8(a) program. NACA's members represent and provide benefits for nearly 700,000 Tribal members, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians.
Notah Begay III Foundation
The Notah Begay III Foundation (NB3F) was founded in 2005 by Notah Begay III, a 4-time PGA TOUR winner and only full-blooded Native American golfer on the PGA TOUR, as a way to address the epidemic of type 2 diabetes among Native American children. NB3F's mission is to prevent type 2 diabetes and its leading cause, childhood obesity, through sports and health and wellness programs that are based on proven and documented best practices. NB3F's holistic programs address Native Americans' nutritional, physical fitness, and community-building needs, with the goal of producing measurable and long-term change in tribal communities.
SOURCE Native American Contractors Association
