kokua auction kick off

i am very excited to announce the kick off of the first annual kokua auction which is now posted on ebay! 100% of the proceeds will be donated to aloha harvest which matches up food donations with island charities working to feed kama'aina who might otherwise go hungry.

this all came to be after receiving the occasional note from one of the subjects of my scribbles who wished to send a little something my way as a thank you for being featured on h|h. my policy is to decline swag for personal use (in the spirit of staying objective, natch), but one day a little idea popped up and so the kokua auction was born.

it seems like a nice way to accept the generosity of island designers/artists/makers while giving the h|h 'ohana a way to sample some of the goodies they have been reading about on the blog - all in the name of charity. it's a win-win-win situation!

so here's the scoop: there will be a total of four auctions, one per week, featuring a mix of goodness from companies like miemiko atelier, ola, riches hawaii, fighting eel, and many more! i've tried to create lots with various price points so everyone can participate in the fun, and, to sweeten the deal, shipping is on me if you live in the states and will be a flat rate of $5 usd for international bidders.

let's get on with the good stuff . . .

kokua lot no. 1 (est. retail value: $40):

• 2 sets of letterpress note cards (6 cards/3 cards) and gift tag set (8) from miemiko atelier
• 1 note card set (6 cards) from big island artist caren loebel-fried
• 1 mama coco's real vanilla lip balm
• 1 plumeria soap from north shore soap factory
• 2 ola hawaii solid fragrance pots in passion fruit citrus & vanilla ginger [11/15 update: please note these are samples]
• 4 handmade gift tags from downtown general store

since i set up an ebay account specifically for the kokua auction, the feedback is currently a woeful zero, however if you message me via your ebay account, i will be happy to send the link to my personal ebay feedback (which is very very good).

love the idea? then please help spread the word about the kokua auction via the *email this* link at this bottom of the post.

mahalo for your kokua!

keiki cards

raise your hand if one of your favorite parts of the holidays is tackling a crafty project or two. i must confess to spending endless hours every holiday surrounded by a ring of rubber stamps, glue sticks, ribbons galore, and various accoutrements from my crafty arsenal (project 07: pom-pom garland!). if handmade holiday cards are your thing, this year consider adding a few extra cards so you can send along some holiday cheer via keiki cards.

the oahu-based non-profit mails out handmade greeting cards every week to over 400 children fighting life threatening illnesses. you can imagine how many cards are required to keep all those mailboxes filled with handmade goodness especially since it can be a time intensive process. and, since kids always want to join the fun this time of year, this is a great project to involve little ones at home or at school.

the holiday season also means keiki cards is gathering up donations to gift the children on their list with a surprise from santa's elves. donations of toys &/or gift cards are welcome or, if you prefer, you can also sponsor a child. click over to the website for more details.

{update | jan 2010: keiki cards closed in 2008 due to lack of funding}

hawaii international film festival for free!

oh well, it doesn't look like i'll be home for the hawaii international film festival this year, however supercw is trying to spread the word that hiff organizers desperately need volunteer drivers to shuttle vips around town. if you can commit to a four hour shift, this is your chance to peek behind the scenes and potentially meet a few up and coming filmmakers.

film fan bonus: each shift you sign up for scores you a voucher to take in a screening of one of the many indie/foreign entrants in this year's festival!

more details and other volunteer opportunites are posted here.

hiff kicks off this thu, oct 18th so do click over to the online box office for the scoop on the 2007 festival schedule (eraserhead, anyone?).

visitor aloha society of hawaii

chances are the visitor aloha society of hawaii does its good work below the radar of most folks unless you happen to be one of its ambassadors of aloha or a grateful recipient. the program was started to extend the aloha spirit to travelers in need should misfortune strike while on vacation. help ranges from donating goods when belongings are stolen to making arrangements when an unexpected illness or death occurs far from home.

training sessions for new volunteers happen a few times a year and the next one is set to take place on oahu later this month. you will need to send in a completed application form to reserve a spot, and vash especially needs volunteers who are fluent in chinese, french, german, korean, japanese or spanish.

• when: sat, oct 27th & sat, nov 17th
• fyi: must be 18+

a peek at a few traveler testimonials reveals just some of the people who have been helped by vash's kokua over the years. learn more about the program here.

last minute kokua festival tix

the kokua festival just released tickets for the pit and lawn sections for next weekend's show featuring headliners jack johnson and eddie vedder. make like a bee and buzz over to ticketmaster and beat the scalpers at their own game before the show truly sells out.