HCAP Weekly December 8, 2014

In this week’s issue:

Saltchuk Hawaii Supports HCAP’s Youth Services Program
#GivingTuesday at the Central District Service Center
HCAP In The News
Scavenger Hunt Prepares Students for Junior FIRST LEGO League Competition
Head Start Children Learn About Wheels
Kupuna Independent Life Series Fall Finale

Saltchuk Hawaii Supports HCAP’s Youth Services Program

HCAP would like to thank Saltchuk Hawaii for their recent contribution to the Youth Services Program. This week, students, Kenneth and Dyllan met and shared their stories with Glenn Hong, President of Young Brothers and Pat Rosa, Chief Operating Officer of Aloha Air Cargo. Both Mr. Hong and Mr. Rosa encouraged the students to pursue their education and become the leaders of their generation.

Saltchuk Hawaii Companies is comprised of Aloha Air Cargo, Maui and Hawaii Petroleum, and Young Brothers. Saltchuk seeks to partner with organizations that make a significant and sustainable impact on their communities.

#GivingTuesday at the Central District Service Center

In the spirit of #GivingTuesday, on December 2nd HCAP’s Central District Service Center staff distributed 100 “Shoeboxes for the Homeless” at the Light House Outreach Center in Waipahu. This shelter houses homeless families and individuals from all over the island. The shoeboxes were donated by schools in the Mililani area and sponsored through the Chinen & Arinaga Financial Group, Inc. The boxes contained hygiene products, school supplies, clothes, shoes, and other items. In total, staff collected 1,562 shoeboxes! The remaining boxes were distributed to Haleiwa Once A Month Church, the Leeward District Service Center, and other homeless shelters.

HCAP In The News

HCAP’s #GivingTuesday efforts were highlighted in this weeks print and online edition of Metro Honolulu. You can read the full article here: http://metrohnl.com/giving-tuesday/

Excerpt: This was HCAP’s second year participating in #GivingTuesday. It joined last year mainly as a vehicle to increase its social media and online presence. That venture proved effective — HCAP social media accounts have gained a few hundred additional followers since then — but the organization felt it could do more.
“That is pretty much what our agency is about,” explains HCAP director of planning, program development and communications Michael Hane. “We are here to help low-income individuals and families to achieve self-sufficiency. All of these activities kind of relate to the mission of our agency.” “We just want participation, whether it be monetary or doing these different projects,” he adds.

Scavenger Hunt Prepares Students for Junior FIRST LEGO League Competition

The Windward STEM Exploration Center students had been looking forward to their end-of-the-month party and finally that day had arrived. On the afternoon of November 26th, the students enjoyed turkey, stuffing, and juice before getting down to business: embarking on an outdoor scavenger hunt.

The only tool they could use for navigation was a compass. This just happened to be the learning tool for this year’s Junior LEGO League, so they were very excited. First, the students watched a video that explained the difference between Magnetic North and True North. Then they experimented with magnets and the compass to see how the magnet affected the compass needle. Finally, they were split into teams and taken outside one-by-one to follow clues on a scavenger hunt.

Each student practiced finding True North and then reading the clue to see which direction they needed to go and for how many steps. The first team was successful in finding all eight clues and earning a prize. Many of them were eager to tag along and help the next team, telling them when they were getting “warmer” or “colder” to the hidden clue. The clues were hidden all along Waiahole Elementary School’s large field and one was hidden on the outdoors stage.

Finally, all teams turned in their eight clues and compasses in return for a candy prize. This hands-on research was especially beneficial to the Junior FIRST LEGO League, who will be presenting on their compass learning tool on December 12th.

Head Start Children Learn About Wheels

Maunawili Head Start children are studying wheels, and this week’s question was, “Who fixes wheels?” Uncle Justin’s Mobile Tire Shop visited the class and showed the many tools that he uses to fix tires. He showed the children the tire gauge, the jack to lift up the cars, the compressor to inflate the tires, and even the little plug that’s inside the tire stem that keeps the air in. He spun a tire on the balancer and showed the weights he uses to balance the tires. It was very interesting for the children as well as for the adults. The children learned new words such as inflate, deflate, axle, and rotate.

Kupuna Independent Life Series Fall Finale

The 2014 Kupuna Independent Life Series ended on December 4th with the annual Kupuna Prom and holiday penny sale at the Leeward District Service Center. The workshop series titled “The Power of Pono: Balancing Body, Mind and Spirit” included fascinating educational and interactive lessons for seniors to help them with aging in place. The day started off with an array of donated toys, household products and clothes available for Kupuna to purchase for one cent per item. Although not quite the spectacle as Black Friday, the penny sale is a hit among low-income seniors looking to buy items for grandchildren and other family members. The annual prom followed the penny sale and featured Hawaiian food, music, dancing, and prizes. Germaine’s Luau, through the generosity of Head Start family advocate, Colleen Lomavita, donated four tickets to its show in Ko Olina. The Kupuna Independent Life Series is a project in collaboration with HPU’s School of Nursing and Health Sciences. The series is held twice a year in the spring and the fall and provides health and social education for seniors 55 and above. Funding is sponsored by the Friends of Hawaii Charity.