Feb 23, 2011 | Education
Ten things you can do to contribute to Education:
- Read to your child daily.
- Tutor one hour a month at your favorite school.
- Check that homework gets done every day.
- Provide feedback to the Board of Education.
- Start a book sharing program to “recycle” gently used books.
- Adopt an intern at your business.
- Donate supplies to a classroom.
- Show up at school fundraising events.
- Create a school garden.
- Organize a Math Night at your school with other families.
What else can we do to contribute to education? Leave a comment below and share your thoughts.
Feb 17, 2011 | Education
Joe Apolo President of Maui Pop Warner and Community Volunteer
Improving education is a key community value identified through Focus Maui Nui, and Joe Apolo, President of Maui Pop Warner, takes pride that Pop Warner football is the only national sports organization in America that requires its participants to meet academic standards in the classroom in order to play on the field. “The Pop Warner scholars program gives our players an appreciation of the role that academics, combined with athletics, can play in their lives,” says Apolo. Students have to maintain a 2.0 grade average, or 70 percent, equivalent to a “C” grade or better to be able to play Pop Warner.
“It’s a great incentive, and we always see grades go up as a result,” observes Apolo. “Of course, some of our players excel anyway, and for them, there are national Pop Warner scholarships available—one of our Maui players qualified recently. For many of our kids, following in the footsteps of Kaluka Maiava is their goal, and we can tell our players that good academics can increase the chance of college scholarships.” Maiava attended Baldwin High School and the University of Southern California before joining the Cleveland Browns in 2009.
Apolo has presided over Maui Pop Warner since 1986. “I got involved because I was a volunteer, I’d been coaching for over 20 years — and I didn’t know what I was getting into,” observes Apolo with his trademark dry wit. Anyone that knows how seriously coaches and parents take their football here on the Valley Isle will appreciate that spending 25 years at the helm of Pop Warner is a remarkable achievement. “I really believe in the program, which is why I’m still here,” says Apolo. “We have 23 teams at all levels, with over 500 kids playing football each year. We’re making a big difference for many of Maui’s students—and their families.”
Feb 9, 2011 | Community, Sustainability
Harlan Hughes
Hughes has retired now from the food and beverage industry, a background that helps explain his particular passion in giving back. He learned about volunteerism and serving the community from his mother, Lottie, who was a dedicated volunteer here on Maui well into her 80s. He also developed and directs the annual “Chefs on the Beach” fundraiser (netting $20,000 last year) which helps support several Maui nonprofits, and his work for the Food Bank serves as another remarkable example.
The Food Bank, headed by Executive Director Richard Yust, in turn leaves no stone unturned in its mission to mitigate hunger across the County. Whether it’s collecting goods from community food drives or retail and wholesale store donations, distributing perishable items through partner agencies in a timely manner, or working with local farmers to bring in donated nutritional fresh produce, about 140,000 pounds of food per month reaches needy families and individuals. “We’re all about partnerships,” says Yust. “By working together, we are able to create win-win situations.” About 90 community service agencies and faith-based organizations that run a total of 105 programs access the inventory of the Food Bank, and over 10,000 recipients each month benefit through these programs – and from the dedication of volunteers like Harlan Hughes.
Feb 2, 2011 | Community
Leslie-Ann Yokouchi’s motto for her real estate business, Windermere Valley Isle Properties, runs: “If home is where the heart is, then community is where you’ll find our souls.” Leslie credits her father, Pundy, for instilling in her the importance of taking action, contributing to a strong community, and giving back. “The Maui Arts and Cultural Center was my Dad’s principal legacy to the community,” says Leslie, “but he was involved in so many non-profit agencies one way or another.” Leslie is continuing that tradition.
Leslie entered the real estate business in 1979, and in 1997, she opened her own agency, Aina Maui Properties. Last year, her company joined the national Windermere group. “At heart, we’re still a local company with core values that are based on our ’ohana,” says Yokouchi. With every transaction, her “citizen agents” make a donation to the company Foundation. In turn, the Foundation distributes funds to local non-profit agencies dedicated to helping homeless and low-income families. During the 2010 Holiday season, the Foundation provided meals to several Maui families through a program of Maui Economic Opportunity (MEO). Yokouchi plans an annual fundraising event to grow the Foundation’s work. Leslie’s agents are also asked to donate a Community Service Day; last year, agents took time out to beautify the surroundings of the Kaunoa Senior Center in Spreckelsville.
Leslie also devotes some of her time to behind-the-scenes work on boards of Maui non-profit organizations, including the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA), which focuses on spay and neuter program education, and with the Maui Memorial Medical Center (MMMC) Foundation, which raises funds and awareness for healthcare services. The Foundation has been instrumental in securing a new cardiac unit at MMMC. Leslie is a long-time Board Member of Seabury Hall and is a committed advocate of the role education plays in preparing citizens who will play a productive role in our community. “Giving something back to the community often involves time, not just money,” observes Yokouchi.
Jan 26, 2011 | Community, Education
If you have ever wondered what might happen if you mix together bright young minds, committed teachers and parents, and energetic community volunteers, then look no further than Molokai. Over the last few years, a transformation has been taking place on the island as teams of students have been winning awards and turning heads with their robotics, science and math accomplishments. One of the catalysts for forging partnerships, bringing funders and volunteers together, and facilitating success is robotics “team mom,” Kimberly Mikami Svetin.
Svetin is a 13-year product of Molokai’s public schools and currently serves as school community council chair for Molokai Middle School. After leaving the island in 1987 to earn her bachelor’s degree from Pomona College, she returned in 2005 to manage her family’s business, Molokai Drugs, and raise her two young sons. She committed herself to sparking community-wide interest in developing the expertise of Molokai students in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) subjects, and she has a reputation for bringing people and projects together. Others active in the community, such as Barbara Haliniak, President of the Molokai Chamber of Commerce Foundation, pay tribute to Kimberly’s efforts. “I think we are witnessing a shift of momentum, and now there’s a mindset on the island that our students can go far, and compete not just against the best in the State and on a national level, but globally,” says Haliniak.
Our second-year robotics teams spent ten months preparing for their Maui competition and have distinguished themselves,” said Svetin. Three Molokai robotics teams–the Gleeks, the Kaunakakai Pharmers, and the Forget-Me-Nots–outperformed other Maui County teams to represent the district in the 6th Annual Hawaii First Lego League Championship on December 11th in Honolulu. Enthusiasm for robotics has spread to Molokai High School, which now has a VEX robotics team. Svetin’s latest endeavor is to bring graduate students and instructors from the University of Hawaii-Manoa to mentor 300 students for Molokai Math Day on February 26th.
Ten things you can do to contribute to Education:
