CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY PARTY 

Wednesday, December 11, 2024 • 11:00 A.M.

Fox Residence, 2022 University Ave. Honolulu, HI 96822

December 2024 Newsletter

It's Christmas! The holiday season started at the Thrift Shop when our annual work party weekend commenced on November 2 and 3. Students from Farrington High School were a big help at the Thrift Shop, helping us process items and setting up the sales floor.

Mahalo for Making 2024 Great:

Get Ready for 2025!

Looks like we are coming to the end of 2024. Programs are in full swing. Thank you to those volunteers that make the magic happen in the community. Hats off to everyone connected with our Thrift Shop! Sales topped $5000 a couple days and over $3000 on others. WOW! We owe it to great donations, volunteers and our customers. Acquisitions have really helped our bottom line so keep your ear to the ground for anyone that might be downsizing or moving. We definitely make money on furniture. Kudos to everyone involved!

Please save the date of December 11 for our Holiday Party. This year Robert and Constantine Fox will be hosting. Please check out the article below for more information. There is no Potluck this year or White Elephant presents. Just pull out your Holiday finest and head to Manoa to celebrate our Chapter. There is no formal business meeting this month, just a time to socialize and enjoy each other’s company. Hope you can make it!

Wishing you all the health, happiness and success you deserve. May you celebrate Christmas full of cheer.



Members Make the Season Bright!

It has been a busy month for membership. Our meeting at Pu'uhale School on November 13 was very successful. Group activities gave new and seasoned members an opportunity to assess their interests and skills.

Hopefully, our member volunteers will be able to follow-up by finding new areas for Assistance League of Hawaii activities. This whole process was aimed toward one of our membership goals - member retention and involvement.

No new members to report this month, but several potential members have expressed an interest in joining. Hopefully there will be good news to share next month!

In the meantime, please keep reaching out to friends and family. Each of you is an excellent resource for finding new members. I think there are a lot of people out there who are searching for ways to contribute some of their time to an amazing non-profit organization such as Assistance League Hawaii.

I will keep you posted on plans for future activities to interest potential new members - possibly a "meet and greet", where members invite friends and family to join us in a casual atmosphere to find out more about Assistance League of Hawaii, and to get acquainted with members and potential members.

I wish you all a blessed holiday season. Enjoy your family and friends and keep knowing what an important difference you are making as you volunteer with Assistance League of Hawaii.

Assistance League of Hawaii Expands Awareness Through Television Appearances

Assistance League of Hawaii board members Mary Monohon, and Gloria McGehee-Koel recently appeared on the November 29 edition of the Inspire You & Me television show featuring host Jessica Lani Rich. The program aired on air and on cable through KFVE TV. It may be uploaded to the Inspire You & Me webpage at the Hawaii News Now website as did their previous shows. Assistance League of Hawaii extends its gratitude to Jen Turvold who offered us this opportunity.

Stay tuned for our Public Service Announcement (PSA) that will air on Olelo cable TV and online soon. The PSA was produced by Chris Pelletier, script writers Melvin Ah Ching and his friend Lisa Davidson, featuring OWL program chair Hazel Sumile as our on-air spokeswoman.

Photo Releases & Business Cards

To aid in our growing public relations and marketing efforts, we are asking members to obtain photo releases from people whom we photograph at events and activities. National requires us to obtain written permission from individuals who are featured in the images using the Photo Release Form available on the Member’s section of our website. Completed forms should be submitted to any of the Marketing Committee members including Melvin Ah Ching, Mary Monohon, Chris Pelletier, or Linda McColgan.

We also have new business cards that members can use to distribute to the public. Business cards are available in the Ohana Room Marketing drawer and are considered a valuable tool for spreading awareness about Assistance League of Hawaii.

Below: Mary and Gloria on the set of ISPIRE with Jessica Rich.

Operation School Bell^® Provided Students with School Clothes, Shoes and Supplies

Member volunteers participating in Operation School Bell (OSB) have made a significant impact on local students this fall, providing new school clothes, T-shirts and shoes to hundreds of children.

During four in-store events held this fall, 554 students from several Oahu communities received new clothing totaling $42,421.93. Assistance League of Hawaii is currently planning two additional in-store events for the spring, with the goal of reaching more students in windward Oahu and in Hilo on the Island of Hawaii.

Assistance League of Hawaii purchased 5,130 school T-shirts for 17 schools. We anticipate purchasing even more T-shirts in the new year as additional schools submit their OSB requests.

As OSB chair, I would like to express my gratitude for the positive impact you have made on Hawaii’s participating schools and students. Teachers and staff have acknowledged the significant benefit of the provided T-shirts, highlighting the organization's contribution to school communities.

School Visits Up and Teachers Love OWL Classroom Web Page

Operation Wildlife is now going full blast with school visits happening just about two days a week! Several schools new to the program are now part of the schedule and the children and teachers are loving it! We have photos from Nanakuli Elementary School.

We are so happy to report that the OWL Classroom web page is being utilized by teachers. I’m excited that they are also doing their evaluations and data reports online. We are so proud to now be in the 21st century and the teachers like it as well.

Student reactions to our biofacts stir their imagination: “You mean elephants actually have hair on their skin?” “Wow! This foot belonged to a baby rhino, not an elephant?” Kids love the feel of the springbok skin; so smooth and soft! OWL volunteers love the interaction they get by teaching children the importance of caring for our environment.

Your Unused Eyewear and Hearing Aids Can Go A Long Way To Helping People

Lions Club Hawaii Chapter 50 has a national program for recycling used prescription eyeglasses, reading glasses, sunglasses and hearing aids.

Assistance League of Hawaii’s Thrift Shop accepts these donations and delivers them to the Lions who sort, clean, classify by prescription and donate items to needy children and adults worldwide. They accept metal and plastic glasses and all hearing aids. If you know of folks getting rid of their glasses, please encourage them to donate to Assistance League of Hawaii so they can be used by others and not go to waste.

We Care Volunteers

Continue Their Good Work

In November, Susan Bauer was able to fulfill a request from the Domestic Violence Action Center for toilet paper, adult Depends and child pull-ups at a cost of $194.

In taking over the reins for Lullaby Layettes, Linda McColgan hosted a layette packing at her home on November 25. One hundred layettes were assembled and will be delivered to PATH Clinic, Kaiser Mapunapuna Clinic, and Kapiolani Hospital. Kapiolani also requested a bag of Malama Bears. 

A big mahalo to all the ladies who helped with packing this month! More layette supplies will be ordered and another packing party will be scheduled early next year. 

We Care member volunteers at last month's layette packing party.

Get Your Parking Reimbursement Sent In

It's time again to be reimburse for parking. If you work in the shop and pay for parking, please complete your parking log for September, October and November and submit it to me by December 10th. You will find a parking log notebook downstairs with all of the other notebooks or upstairs in the far left corner of the office desk, next to the

reimbursement forms.

If you have any questions, please ask me. Andrea Cyriacks at 808- 946-1505.

We Appreciate Your Endless Support

As the end of 2024 approaches, I want to thank all of you for the success of our Thrift Shop during the past year. Our sales have been good, changes have been made, and many have stepped up to the plate to do whatever, whenever.

A “Gentle Reminder”: I will be gone from the middle of December to sometime in February. Several things have to be done before the store opens and closes. It is important that morning workers arrive at 9:00 to get ready and closing workers remain until 1:30 to ensure that all gets done. We will be closed from Thursday, December 26 through Tuesday, December 31, 2024. The downstairs sales floor will be painted at that time. We will re-open for business on Tuesday, January 2, 2025.

Photo inset: Thank you to all of our volunteers and elves who came by the Thift Shop to move all of the Christmas merchandise to the sales floor. The empty bins are ready for next year!

Merry Christmas to all of you and a Happy New Year.

December 2024 Thrift Shop

Calendar for Cashiers & Rovers

Thrift Shop Days & Hours:

Tuesday & Thursdays 9:30 am to 1:00 pm

Saturdays 9:30 am to 3:00 pm

Thrift Shop is Closed on December 25, 2024 to January 1, 2025.

Login to our Members Page on the website to view another copy of the current Thrift Shop Calendar. #0db80b

Submit Your Service Hours

Turn in your monthly service hours to: alhservicehours@gmail.com Enter your first name, last name and the hours you worked (please do not enter any text – just numerical hours). An email for this was sent out on November 30. Mailer Link

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