4 & 3 . . . reading, writing 'n houses

 

let the kokua countdown continue . . .

no. 4 - hawaii literacy
there is nothing like getting lost in a good book . . . especially when you're growing up on an island far from the rest of the world. and even if you are not a bookworm, well, you probably never realize how much easier reading makes your life (filling out paperwork, navigating a street map, reading your favorite blog, etc).

hawaii literacy runs classes where volunteers work with adults who need help with basic reading & writing skills. they also operate the bookmobile which brings books to kids living on the west side. me - i'm gathering up books to send home to stock the bookmobile with a complete set of my beloved childhood series, betsy-tacy (which just happens to be one of island girl bette midler's favorites too).

and if you are weeding out your bookcase before the end of the year, before you take everything to goodwill remember that most libraries welcome book donations to stock the sales run by the friends of the library.

no. 5 - habitat for humanity
well, if you are celebrating the holidays in the warmth of your home remember that the recent housing crunch has pushed far too many local families out to the beachparks (check out the "homeless on the waianae coast" series at the honolulu advertiser).

i sometimes wonder what the impact would have been had all the people who bought & sold vacation homes in their island paradise & the real estate agents who love them had made a 1% donation to the habitat chapter on the island where the property is located. food for thought.

whether you want to donate cash, building materiels to the re-store, or a little sweat equity, here's a list of habitat chapters around the islands:

• big island - hilo & kona | kauai | maui | molokai | oahu - honolulu & leeward

no. 5 - mala'ai'opio

as often as we have driven out to the west side for my fella's dawn patrol surf sessions when we go home, i never realized that there were as many as 200 mom & pop farms hidden throughout the valley. one of them is the grassroots effort at mala'ai'opio (aka ma'o) which was established a few years ago as an organic farm where the 15 to 25 demo on the waianae coast could simultaneously receive vocational training while learning to care for the 'aina.

many island foodies have enjoyed ma'o's organic produce which is dished up at alan wong's, town restaurant, and aloha 'aina cafe. with the popularity of its produce growing, ma'o is working to expand its programs at waianae h.s. and turn the current 10 month internship into an associates degree at lcc. the good work they are doing to make the waianae coast more self-sufficient is as cool as their mantra:

no panic . . . go organic!

click here to learn how you can make a difference!

no. 6 - tree hawaii

the inner treehugger in me believes that you can never have too many trees so i was happy to learn about tree hawaii which is working on reforestation projects on the big island. one of their biggest endeavors is to restore the kaloko-honokohau national historical park (which sits on now barren land that was once home to a thriving native hawaiian village) with rare & endangered trees.

tree hawaii also runs camp papaloa where kids & teens can escape from their family every spring & summer to learn about the natural history of the islands while roughing it in the great outdoors.

click here to buy a tree!

{update | jan 2010: fyi, the tree hawaii website has been taken down}

9-8-7 . . . the kokua countdown continues

well, you may have noticed that i fell behind on the kokua countdown over the weekend. i will refrain from blaming holiday shopping in the real world or snuggling in to watch the charger game last night and just get on with the good stuff.

no. 9 - alu like
provides a multitude of services for native hawaiians from keiki to kupuna. i especially like that they understand the importance of being financially literate and offer classes to native hawaiians to help them take control of their financial future. alu like also runs ulukau and the hawaii digital library which gives everyone online access to hawaiian & english materials written in the 19th & 20th centuries.

no. 8 - lanakila
focuses their efforts on providing assistance to those in the community with cognitive, physical, social or age-related challenges. in addition to adult day services, lanakila also has a program to train folks with a disability who want to join the workforce, a center for the blind, and operates meals on wheels for those who are homebound.

no. 7 - christmas wish program
which is run entirely by volunteers on a mission to bring xmas & a little stability to big island keiki and their families whose only home may be a shelter or one of the many tent cities that have popped up around the islands in the last few years. they have a pay pal donation option and have also posted a gift card wish list of island stores where the organization can stock up for their gift giving events.

no. 10 - honolulu theatre for youth

going to a performance of the honolulu theatre for youth was one of the highlights of growing up in hawaii. it's magical to see stories brought to life on the stage and the hty, the only professional non-profit theatre company in the islands, has exposed millions of kids to the dramatic arts since they were established 51 years ago.

even though their home stage is on oahu, every year the company takes their act on tour around the neighbor islands so kids all over hawaii have a chance to see productions like christmas talk story or tales of old hawaii in person. the hty also holds drama workshops for aspiring thespians as well as for the teachers who inspire them in the classroom.

click here to learn how you can make a difference!