by Calista Staff
Employees of Yulista Holding, LLC—a Calista Corporation subsidiary—raised money to provide backpacks and school supplies for kids in Emmonak and Kotlik this year.
“I live here in Emmonak and have a lot of family in Kotlik, so this touches the heart,” says Kiara Johnson, a Calista Shareholder and former Yulista Intern.
“I remember going to school [in Emmonak] with just a pencil,” Kiara says. “For these kids to be able to have pens, highlighters, notebooks, backpacks, hats and flashlights—I was in their shoes. I know what it means for them. It feels good for them to have more.”
Yulista—based in Huntsville, Alabama—saw employees raise enough money to purchase backpacks and school supplies for these Calista Region villages and for kids in their own Madison County community.
Yulista CARES is an employee driven community service initiative. Yulista CARES shares the responsibility of large-scale efforts and helps engage employees in community and internal campaigns. It stands for:
·Community
·Appreciation
·Relations
·Employee
·Support
Yulista CARES worked with employees to raise 1,044 backpacks for the Calista Region and its local community this year. In total, our campaign has provided 4,241 backpacks and school supplies to students in need.
“Living here [in Emmonak], the cost of living is crazy,” says Kiara. “You can’t really afford much here and there’s not a lot of jobs, so for them to get backpacks means a lot.”
Traveling every few years, this is the 6th Yulista Backpack Campaign. Yulista CARES goes to two or three different villages in the Calista Region.
Yulista delivered backpacks and school supplies in the Calista Region over the past 6 years to: Akiachak, Akiak, Bethel, Chuathbaluk, Eek, Emmonak, Kotlik, Marshall, Nunapitchuk, Russian Mission, St. Mary’s, Toksook Bay, Tuluksak, Tununak, and Tuntutuliak.
This donation to the schools of the Region makes an impact in the lives of our Shareholders and students with a reignited passion for learning. Thank you Yulista and its employees for providing backpacks with supplies to our Youth!
“Now they’re going to have all the supplies they need. They will be ready,” says Kiara. “We don’t get a lot of stuff like this, so it’s just good for them to know they have people looking out for them.”
This piece was originally published in the Calista Corporation publication Storyknife – Yaaruin.
