HCAP Weekly December 17, 2018

STEM Students Take Field Trip to Bishop Museum
Family Receives LIHEAP Assistance and Employment Offer
Windward District Service Center Receives Help from Community Partners
Leahi Kupuna Exchange White Elephant Gifts
Holiday Energy Saving Tips from the Weatherization Assistance Program

STEM Students Take Field Trip to Bishop Museum

Earlier in December, students from the Hā Initiative: Creative STEM After-School Program, a 21st Century Community Learning Center, took a field trip to Bishop Museum. Forty-nine students and thirty-two parents from the four STEM Exploration Centers were in attendance.

The students were split into two groups. The first group explored the Science Adventure Center, where students and their parents were able to participate in the interactive activities. In the lower level exhibit area, they discovered the Hawaiian Basabe’s Butterflyfish (Prognathodes basabei). The fishes were collected from the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument. The second group visited the Holoholo exhibit, where they learned the origins of canoe building and the story of past voyaging principles. Students explored how the wa’a kaulua (double-hulled canoe) of the Hokule’a was designed and built.

Both groups convened at the planetarium, their final destination for the day. They learned that ancient Hawaiians were able to navigate from one island to the next with extreme accuracy, using their natural and celestial surroundings. They also learned about cardinal directions (north, south, east, and west) and the angles of the Hawaiian Star Compass.

Family Receives LIHEAP Assistance and Employment Offer

In November, Tiare and her boyfriend Daniel came to HCAP’s Central District Service Center, looking for assistance after receiving an imminent disconnection notice from their electricity provider. Tiare had just given birth to their child in October. At the time of intake, Tiare and Daniel were receiving only TANF as income, having lost their jobs in September.

With the help of Central District Service Center staff, Tiare and Daniel completed their application for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). Through LIHEAP’s Emergency Crisis Intervention (ECI) credit, their electricity was no longer at risk of being shut off.

Central District Service Center staff also enrolled Tiare’s children in the Angel Tree Program and signed Daniel up for the Na Lima Hana Employment Core Services (ECS) Program. This week, Tiare came to Central District Service Center to pick up her children’s holiday gifts and also turned in Daniel’s first pay stub as documentation of employment. Daniel recently obtained full-time employment as a cook at Ruby Tuesday.

Windward District Service Center Receives Help from Community Partners

Through generous donations from Brigham Young University (BYU) Hawaii and Ko’olau Baptist Academy, HCAP’s Windward District Service Center will be able to provide many hygiene kits for clients, who need help in preparing themselves for job interviews.

In November, students from BYU’s School of School Work attended a presentation by Windward District Service Center staff. After gaining a better idea of the work Community Workers do in the community, the students wanted to provide hands-on assistance. They raised funds and used the funds to assemble hygiene kits for the Windward District Service Center to provide to program participants.

Ko’olau Baptist Academy students held their own “Get in Touch” donation drive. They were able to collect food and hygiene items and donate it to the Windward District Service Center office. Some of students came to the office and worked hand-in-hand with the Community Workers. They were able to assemble over 60 hygiene kits and a handful of emergency food boxes.

Windward District Service Center staff would like to give a big mahalo to BYU and Ko’olau Baptist Academy for all their help and thoughtfulness.

Leahi Kupuna Exchange White Elephant Gifts

This week, the Leahi District Service Center finished up their last session for the Kupuna Independent Life Series program. For their last session, the kupuna decided to do a Christmas potluck, in which everyone brought their favorite dishes to share. In the spirit of the holidays, Leahi District Service Center staff organized a White Elephant gift exchange. Each kupuna brought a wrapped gift to contribute to the common pool. The kupuna drew numbers to determine the order of who gets to unwrap a present. The kupuna closed out the day by making Christmas crafts.

Holiday Energy Saving Tips from the Weatherization Assistance Program

The holidays are in full effect. With lights going up and decorations in full swing, be sure to remember some of the following energy saving tips:

Use LED lightbulbs. Switch all older halogen and dated Christmas lights to energy efficient LED lightbulbs. Using LED holiday lights can really rack up the savings when your household wants to have Christmas lights up all month.

Conserve AC. With temperatures cooling during the winter months, try to limit the length of time your AC unit is on. A fan with some open windows can easily do the job of cooling down the home/room.

Make full use of the oven. Be sure to use all the oven racks when cooking or baking. This uses the oven’s heat to its full potential.

Allow your dishwasher to air dry. Make sure to choose the air dry function and avoid the “rinse hold” setting. Don’t have an air dry function? Simply open the door at the end of the wash cycle and let the dishes air dry.

By reducing your energy consumption, you can enjoy the holidays without breaking the bank before the new year!