HCAP WEEKLY August 17, 2026

HCAP Connects with the Community at Kamaʻāina Come Home

HCAP’s Corporate staff had the opportunity to set up a table at the Chamber of Commerce Hawaii’s Kamaʻāina Come Home, presented by Zippy’s, trademarked by, and held in partnership with the Hawaiʻi Island Economic Development Board (HIEDB). The job placement event connects Hawaii professionals, students, and community members, whether living in Hawaii or away from home, with employers, organizations, and opportunities to stay engaged with Hawaii’s workforce and community.

The evening drew more than 100 attendees — jobseekers, career changers, students, and professionals — all looking to make real connections with local employers and resource partners. HCAP was proud to be one of the resource partners in the room.

Representing HCAP were Hanako and Nia from the Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP), who spent the evening speaking with attendees about how HCAP’s programs can support their families and careers — from how they can receive energy assistance in the Hawai’i Home Energy Assistance Program, reduce their household energy consumption with the Weatherization Assistance Program, enhance their children’s learning with the Head Start and Hā Initiative programs, and enroll in employment services with Nā Lima Hana.

Weatherization Assistance Program specialist, Nia shared, “There was a lot of community building and outreach especially for women and children looking to rebuild their lives in Hawaii.“ 

It was a great reminder of why events like this matter: real people, face-to-face, learning about resources that can make a difference in their lives. Mahalo to HIEDB and Zippy’s for putting together such a meaningful evening. HCAP looks forward to engaging with more community members in future events!

Click here to learn more about HCAP’s programs and services.

Building Curiosity, Creativity, and Community at Head Start

This week at Head Start and Early Head Start, the little learners showed just how much curiosity and creativity they bring to each day. Indoors, children explored drawing and early writing, practicing fine‑motor skills and expressing their ideas with growing confidence. Outdoors, they continued building independence as they navigated familiar spaces, made choices, and socialized with peers.

These experiences strengthened social‑emotional development, communication, and problem‑solving, all essential parts of school readiness. The Head Start staff are proud of the way children are learning to collaborate, express themselves, and engage with their environment. Their curiosity shines through in every moment, and we can’t wait to see what they discover next.

Click here to learn more about Head Start.

Hā Initiative Wraps Up Summer Break With Fun STEM Learning

With the 2026-2027 school year starting, Hā Initiative staff attended a Meet-and-Greet event at Pearl City Elementary School, where information about HCAP and the Hā Initiative program was shared with students, parents, teachers, and faculty. Students had the opportunity to play with catapults, a hologram, automata toy, marble roller coaster, and kaleidoscope made from upcycled materials at the STEM table. 

During recent summer classes, students learned the importance of staying active and taking care of their bodies and minds through fun, character-themed activities. Some fun digital character guided activities included practicing stretching with Spider-Man to learn how it improves flexibility and helps prevent injuries. Students explored mindfulness by meditating with Po from Kung Fu Panda, helping them relax and improve their focus. With the Toy Story crew, students danced and participated in a lily pad drawing activity. Lightning McQueen from Cars guided a running activity to build strength, endurance, and heart health. Overall, the week encouraged students to develop healthy habits, stay active, and enjoy learning through movement and creativity.

Hā Initiative also wrapped up its robotics summer enrichment program. The four week program was designed to walk students through building a chassis using the SPIKE LEGO robotics kit, basic programming, and mission planning and execution for the FIRST LEGO League Tournament held in Honolulu every year. 

Students were able to work as a team to build several different hardware designs, plan a route for their robot to follow, and program missions for the Robot Game, all in just four weeks. In addition, students were able to complete background research on archaeology, learning the archaeological process and digging into the tools that scientists use to gather data. They were able to brainstorm a new tool: a trolley that combines LIDAR and Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) functionality.

On the last day of class, they presented their project to a small audience, confidently explaining what they were trying to do, their plan, and setbacks they had encountered. They also demonstrated the programming for their missions in an abbreviated version of the Robot Game done during the competition.

This summer robotics program helped prepare students for the upcoming season, providing them with the foundation needed to present a project and compete against other teams. The students did a phenomenal job, handling content and pressure intended for much older students. They were able to familiarize themselves with the engineering design process, solve real world problems, and have a lot of fun while doing all of these things!

Click here to learn more about Hā Initiative.