HCAP Weekly July 20, 2015

In this week’s issue:

HCAP Head Start Staff Attend Training to Kick Start New School Year
HCAP Central District Service Center Begins Registration for Senior Farmersʻ Market Nutrition Program
HCAP Receives Office Furniture Donation from Bank of Hawaii Merchant Street Branch
Preparing for the School Year with the 2015 Ready to Learn Program
HCAP Youth Services Complete Health Education Presentations
HCAP Youth Services Receives Starbucks Foundation Grant

HCAP Head Start Staff Attend Training to Kick Start New School Year

In this photo: Gene Generoso, teacher at Kapalama Elementary Head Start, is pictured with keynote speaker Dr. Lyla Berg, author of Leaving the Guilded Cage.

This year, HCAP Head Start program kicked off its new school year with pre-service staff training at the Neal S. Blaisdell Center. Part-day, part-year and full-day, full-year teaching staff returned from their summer break to join the rest of the program staff to network and receive training on Child Welfare Services (CWS), U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) updates, and blood borne pathogens health updates.

Starting off the morning, keynote speaker Dr. Lyla Berg motivated employees to be mindful of each day as an opportunity to build resiliency and find happiness. She used some key strategies from her book “Leaving the Guilded Cage” to motivate employees to trust in themselves.

Keith Spencer from CWS, Eleanore Fong-Severence from the Hawaii Child Nutrition Program, and HCAP Human Resources Director Derek Nishimura also presented during the break out sessions.

HCAP Central District Service Center Begins Registration for Senior Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program

The HCAP Central District Service Center held its annual registration for the 2015 Senior Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program, sponsored by the Hawaii Foodbank, Hawaii State Office of Community Services and the U.S. Department of Agriculture/Food and Nutrition Service. The Central District Service Center assisted the seniors with filling out their applications in addition to providing each senior with information on HCAPʻs services.

The Hawaii Foodbank has been distributing a limited number of Senior Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program voucher booklets (valued at $50.00) at partner locations around the island. Their goal is to provide fresh and locally-grown fruits and vegetables for our seniors. Vouchers are redeemable with certified vendors at various farmers’ markets from June 23, 2015 – October 11, 2015.

To apply for the program, seniors must apply in person at any participating site on Oahu and bring required documents to a certification site. Applicants must be 60 years of age or older, and have a household annual income of less than $25,068 for single person or $33,911 for a couple.

Seniors must also bring verification of their age and annual income by providing one of the following: current Hawaii driver’s license and social security card, state ID and social security card, certified birth certificate & photo ID or passport and proof of residency. For income verification, applicants must bring one of the following: EBT card, Medicaid card, 2014 tax return form 1040, 2015 social security checks or 2015 pay check stubs.

To view the 2015 calendar for partner locations accepting applications around the island, click here.

For more information or to print a copy of the application visit the Senior Farmersʻ Market Nutrition Program page on the Hawaii Food Bank website.

HCAP Receives Office Furniture Donation from Bank of Hawaii Merchant Street Branch

Last week, HCAP received office furniture donations from the Bank of Hawaiiʻs Merchant Street Branch. This donation has helped improve and enhance the appearance of each of HCAPʻs District Service Centers by replacing their old furniture with the donated office chairs, tables and file cabinets.

Mahalo to Darbie Matsumoto, the project coordinator at Bank Of Hawaii for organizing the donations and the volunteers who assisted the staff with loading and moving the furniture. Our clients and staff are appreciative of the donations and the love the new appearance of the HCAP District Service Centers.

Prepare for the School Year with the 2015 Ready to Learn Program

The summer season is almost over and HCAPʻs District Service Centers have begun preparing school supplies provided by Helping Hands Hawaiiʻs 2015 Ready to Learn Program. Through this continued partnership, HCAP can assist families with basic school supplies for children in grades K through 12. In fact, HCAPʻs Kalihi-Palama District Service Center has already begun distributing school supplies to families! Even with just basics, HCAP staff knows they are helping to give kids a great start to a new school year!

HCAP Youth Services Complete Health Education Presentations

This week, HCAP Youth Services students made oral presentations on various health topics, such as cancer, brain tumors, strokes, depression, and anxiety. When asked why they chose a particular topic to research, the majority responded that it was something that affected them personally. For example, a student, whose parent suffered from a stroke and became paralyzed, wanted to educate her peers on the symptoms of a stroke.

HCAP Youth Services Receives Starbucks Foundation Grant

HCAP would like to thank the Starbucks Foundation for their recent contribution to the Youth Services Program. The 2015 Starbucks Foundation Opportunity for Youth grant will be used for education and employment initiatives. HCAP’s Youth Services program is 1 of 15 non-profit organizations within the United States to receive a grant.

The Starbucks Foundation believes in creating pathways to lifelong opportunity toward a purpose-driven workforce. At this time there are more than 1.2 billion 16 to 24 year olds, the largest global cohort of young people in history. A growing number of these young people are disengaged and unemployed, referred to as the NEET (not engaged in employment, education, or training) generation. These young men and women, often referred to as opportunity youth, represent a huge, untapped opportunity for an infusion of productivity and creativity in the workforce.