HCAP Weekly November 24, 2014

In this week’s issue:

Students Learn Valuable Lessons About Helping Their Community
Hā Initiative Students Give Back to Their Teachers
Head Start Students Make a Difference
Kupuna Share Holiday Cheer at Nursing Home
Introducing “Robby The Waiter”
Senior Employment Program Helps Seniors Sharpen Job Searching Skills
#GivingTuesday 2014 is Just Around the Corner!

Students Learn Valuable Lessons About Helping Their Community

The Central District Service Center partnered with children and staff at Helemano Elementary School and Holomua Elementary School, who instead of their annual canned food drive changed their focus to support low-income families and individuals in a unique way. In a joint effort, the school’s student council coordinated a successful project, with students collecting over 4,900 hygiene items, such as shampoo, toothpaste, toothbrushes, toilet paper, deodorant, and many other items of cleanliness that most take for granted. In addition to gaining organizational, leadership and teamwork skills that will prepare them for future student government positions, the children learned a valuable lesson about helping others in their community.

Hā Initiative Students Give Back to Their Teachers

By Ms. Heather, Windward STEM Exploration Center Teacher

Thanksgiving is a wonderful time to give back to the community. I asked the Windward STEM Exploration Center students if they knew of anyone in the community who worked really hard for them so we could give back to them this season. With a resounding cry, they replied, “Our teachers!”

The Windward STEM Exploration Center is located in Waiahole Elementary School, so the majority of students attend class together. They were excited to make a set of classroom supplies that their teachers could use on a daily basis. The students agreed that one thing they didn’t have in their classroom was a set of bookmarks. They decided to give the homemade bookmarks a STEM twist by adding questions and answers about Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math to each one. This way their bookmarks could mark the page they left off on and provide a thought-provoking STEM question.

Students decided to use a “Monster Bookmark” design. After carefully cutting out the template, they folded colorful construction paper into a monster face, and then added eyes and teeth. The best part was the monster’s mouth that “bit” the page, because they could hide they STEM answers in there. The students came up with questions with everything from “How many times does the human heart beat per minute?” to “Where is an ant’s brain?” Using computers and the internet, students researched the answers to the questions.

Finally on Tuesday, November 26th, the students made a special poster thanking their specific teacher and surprised them with the STEM bookmarks. The students had fun sharing their question and answer with their teacher, and the teacher quickly made room on the shelves to welcome the class’s new learning tools. “It felt great giving back to someone who works hard for us,” 5th grader Aisha said afterwards. “Happy Thanksgiving!”

Head Start Students Make a Difference

The parents and children at Makalapa Head Start enjoyed doing a family engagement project. Together they created holiday cards for kupuna receiving meals from Lanakila Meals on Wheels. Each card is personalized by a child and their parent, wishing the kupuna a happy holiday. The children learned that although they are young, they can make a big difference in someone’s life.

Kupuna Share Holiday Cheer at Nursing Home

In November, the Leeward District Service Center brought kupuna and HPU (Hawaii Pacific University) nursing students to visit Pu’uwai O’ Makaha, also known as Leeward Integrated Health Services, to spread holiday cheer with residents of the 93-bed nursing home. HPU students provided craft activities and treats, while seniors from the Kupuna Independent Life Series sang and entertained with hula. Pu’uwai O’Makaha is the largest skilled nursing facility in Hawaii, and provides service to residents throughout Oahu. This was the first time the Leeward District Center had partnered with Pu’uwai O’ Makaha to bring the holiday spirit to their residents. At the request of the Pu’uwai O’ Makaha’s management, kupuna have agreed to come at least twice a year to share their mana’o with residents.

Introducing “Robby The Waiter”

Food, family, and robotic fun all happened at the Kalihi-Palama STEM Exploration Center’s Thanksgiving family night on November 25th. There was a strong turnout of families from Mayor Wrights to Chinatown, and it was great to see the community come together, share, and learn: kids and parents alike!

To showcase their science, technology, engineering, and math skills, students from 2nd to 8th grade collaborated on their biggest project to date: a fully automated robotic waiter! “Robby The Waiter” shuttled about, waving to greet parents like a gracious host, and dispensed pre-dinner snacks. He served as bus boy as well, taking away trash in a plastic bag.

“I’m a really good engineer,” said Darryl, a 2nd grader who helped to design the robot’s motion-sensor-activated hand waving. “I think I could do this when I grow up.”

Senior Employment Program Helps Seniors Sharpen Job Searching Skills

In addition to placing seniors in subsidized employment, the Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP) also conducts training for its participants on how to obtain jobs in the community.

Barbara, a SCSEP Employment Counselor, hosted a Pre-Employment Preparation workshop to help program participants sharpen their job seeking skills. Some of the highlighted topics of her workshop included: Filling out job applications, appropriate work attire, transportation concerns, interviewing questions and responses, individual skills, interests, strengths and weaknesses, employer networking, cultural differences in the workplaces and financial issues.

#GivingTuesday 2014 is Just Around the Corner!

On Thursday, November 27th, HCAP’s #GivingTuesday efforts were shared in Pacific Business News. The story can be viewed by clicking here: http://www.bizjournals.com/pacific/blog/2014/11/hawaii-nonprofits-gear-up-for-givingtuesday.html

We are pleased to announce that 100% of our Executive Management Team and Fiscal office have contributed to HCAP’s #GivingTuesday campaign. In addition, HCAP’s Planning Department and Human Resources Department have both pledged 100% participation on #GivingTuesday.

Besides encouraging giving in the community, HCAP’s goal on #GivingTuesday is to raise $2000 in monetary donations, with 100% of our staff contributing with a personally meaningful donation. Your #GivingTuesday donation will supplement funding for HCAP programs and services. These donations give HCAP flexibility to cover expenses that may not be funded, and ultimately keep our programs and services available to the people we serve.

You can make your own meaningful donation on our website or send a check to 33 South King St, Suite 300, Honolulu, HI 96813 (Please note that the donation is specifically for #GivingTuesday).

This past week, the Leeward District Service Center brought kupuna and HPU nursing students to Leeward Integrated Health Services to spread holiday cheer to residents of the 93-bed nursing home. HPU students provided craft activities and treats, while seniors from the Kupuna Independent Life Series provided entertainment. HCAP’s Windward STEM Exploration Center, located at Waiahole Elementary School, came together to make educational bookmarks to give to their school teacher of choice. At HCAP Head Start Makalapa, students and parents created and personalized holiday cards for Lanakila Meals on Wheels.

However, the fun doesn’t stop there. Over the next few days, HCAP staff and volunteers will be hosting the following events:

November 26th to December 2nd: HCAP Main Office will be wrapping up this year’s #GivingTuesday campaign by holding a clothing drive to donate to Big Brothers Big Sisters Hawaii.

December 1st: Thanks to a donation from Hardware Hawaii, Windward District Service Center staff and volunteers will be revitalizing their building with a fresh coat of paint.