The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has collaborated with Heart of America, a national education nonprofit, to bring solar power to homes in the Navajo Nation near Chinle in northeastern Arizona.
The Church funded solar installations for 100 homes, along with age‑appropriate educational and enrichment materials for families in March 2026.
Approximately 14,000 homes on Navajo Nation tribal land lack access to electricity. Heart of America is working to provide light for families with school-age children, focusing on educational stability and student well-being.
Jill Heath, Heart of America president and CEO, said it’s a game changer to “provide students and their families with electricity and power at home.”
“We focus on making sure the student has what he or she needs to succeed — the ability to do homework after the sun sets, the ability to read, to connect with family,” Heath said in a news release on ChurchofJesusChrist.org.
Heath said organization leaders were thrilled after learning of the Church’s desire to help Heart of America in their mission.
“When this grant came along and the Church so generously said, ‘We want to help provide more students with electricity and power,’ we knew that this was going to be a great collaboration,” Heath said.
The donation is “not just about light,” Heath said.
“It’s about hope. It’s about providing the families and the students really with opportunity and the hope for a future.”
Impact on families
Installation takes about an hour, according to Mylo Fowler with Heart of America, who worked on installation of the 100 donated solar kits from the Church.
“So in one day, we can effectively bring solar power to a family for the next decade,” Fowler said.
Each solar kit includes rooftop panels, batteries, lighting, a charge controller, an inverter and a refrigeration unit. The systems provide reliable power for lighting, food storage and essential devices, replacing temporary solutions like fuel-powered generators and battery lights.
“We hear stories of students doing better in school because they can do their homework after dark,” said Lian Mah, who has worked on installation teams for several years. “We hear of stories of students who can keep their medicine in the refrigerator now. They don’t have to store it at a neighbor’s house. To keep their food cold, [some families] would literally freeze a gallon of water at a neighbor’s house, bring it over every day, put it in their cooler to try and keep their food cold. And now they have fresh food in their house 24/7 because of this, which is just amazing.”
Before receiving a solar-kit installation, Colynn Begay was using a small battery-powered light while trying to help her five sons with homework and bedtime each night.
“Life is so challenging because I have no electricity,” she said.
Begay turned on her new lights on March 5.
“I’m filled with joy and love,” she said. “We get to read bedtime stories, and my kids get to do their homework, we have lights, and we get to charge my laptop.”
Heath said schools have seen improvements in attendance, engagement and academic focus among students whose homes receive solar power.
“The home is where you should feel the most stable, the home is where you should feel the most safe,” Heath said.
Eugene Gorman, a father of three in the Red Valley community, said his family relied on generators for years. He said they would often spend significant amounts on fuel.
“This solar will help us a lot,” Gorman said. “We’ll be able to spend money in different places for our kids now instead of just worrying for electricity all the time.”
Gorman said he really appreciated those who made this possible.
“Nobody else would do it, but you guys did,” he said.
Other Church efforts in the Navajo Nation
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints collaborates with charitable organizations and nonprofits around the world to get resources and aid to people. Following Jesus Christ’s teaching to “love thy neighbour as thyself” (Matthew 22:39), the Church and its members work to be the Savior’s hands in caring for those in need.
Beginning in September 2022, the Diné (Navajo) community near Blanding in southeastern Utah received running water and electrical power, thanks to a donation from the Church.
The Church also helped with a donation of 3 million pounds of firewood to families in the Navajo Nation, most of whom are largely dependent on burning wood to heat their homes throughout the winter.
