ASSISTANCE LEAGUE OF HAWAII CHRISTMAS PARTY

Wednesday, December 10, 2025 - Starts at 11:00 AM

Laurelyn Berger Residence, 94 Lumahai Street, Honolulu, HI

December 2025 Newsletter

Our Thrift Shop was set up for the holiday season by November 11. Today we still have an abundance of Christmas gift items and holiday supplies for sale.

A Merry & Bright Christmas Greeting

from Assistance League of Hawaii

As this joyful season surrounds us with music, lights, and the warmth of gathering with those we cherish, Assistance League of Hawaii extends our heartfelt Christmas wishes to you, our members, community volunteers, cherished donors, and friends.

A Season of Giving & Gratitude

This year, our chapter has been uplifted by the incredible generosity of supporters and members near and far.

Mahalo nui loa to all who contributed your gifts, have strengthened every one of our philanthropic programs, and allowed us to bring comfort, dignity, and joy to our keiki and families across Hawaii.

We extend a special, tender acknowledgement to those who made donations in memory of loved ones and former members. These heartfelt tributes remind us that the spirit of giving, kindness, and community endures through every life remembered. Your memorial gifts continue to make a difference in the lives of those we serve.

Gracious Thanks from the Board

To our dedicated members and community volunteers, you are the heartbeat of Assistance League of Hawaii. Your commitment, creativity, and countless hours of service in the Thrift Shop and resource development, through our philanthropic programs, and behind the scenes have made this year extraordinary. Every smiling keiki, every grateful family, and every successful outreach reflects your generosity of spirit. The Board of Directors offers its warmest, most sincere appreciation. Your work is a true gift to the Hawaii community.

With Warm Wishes for a Joyful Holiday Season

May your Christmas be filled with peace, love, laughter, and the warmth of ohana. Thank you for being part of the Assistance League family and for helping us transform lives throughout the year.

Mele Kalikimaka & Hau‘oli Makahiki Hou!

With gratitude,

The Board of Directors

Assistance League of Hawai‘i



Mark your calendars for a festive and spirit-filled holiday event happening on:

When: December 10th, Wednesday

Where: Laurelyn Berger Residence, 94 Lumahai Street,

Where: Honolulu, Hawaii 96825

Time: 11:00 am To 2:00 pm

Assistance League of Hawaii is providing a wonderful buffet luncheon. Holiday Bakers' you are invited to bring your favorite holiday dessert item to complement the dessert table.

Let Lorna Motas know if you would like to sign up to contribute a dessert.

RSVP with your attendance to Lorna Motas by Monday, Dec. 8.

There is ample street parking available.

Mahalo and looking forward to seeing you on December 10th.

Cheers!

The Hospitality Team



Resource Development Committee

Gift Wraps at Macy’s Ala Moana Center

Assistance League of Hawaii's Resource Development Committee was busy gift wrapping at Macy's on November 23rd for Ala Moana Center’s Ho'okipa Day. Donations were collected for Assistance League of Hawaii and Macy's provided the gift wrap. We handed out Assistance League of Hawaii flyers and introduced many shoppers to our organization and told them of our mission and programs. We also invited them to our festively-decorated Thrift Shop during this holiday season. Wishing you all a wonderful Christmas.

Geoffrey the Toys R Us - giraffe mascot posed with our Assistance League of Hawaii Resource Development volunteers:

• Dawn Krause
• Ruby Jung
• Mary Li
• Linda Andersen

Toys R Us is one of the shops at the Macy’s Department Store.

OSB To Hold Events in January

Operation School Bell^® program will be having more In-Store Shopping Events, starting in January 2026. Check for updates in the Monday Morning Message, as we get closer to the New Year. Interested? Let Mary Monohon or me know if you want to help.

Reaching Out to Palolo Chinese Home

Dawn Krause assisted with purchasing and delivering lap-top blankets and grippy socks for 120 residents at the Palolo Chinese Home. Many of their residents arrive there after hospitalization with nothing but their hospital gowns.

Happy Holidays, New Members & More!

We are very happy to let you know about our three newest members. Just in time for the busy holiday season! We hope to see them at our Christmas Party.

MARY JEANNE DORSEY - found us on our website. She is now retired after working many years at UH. Her mentor is Mary Li. She is planning on devoting her volunteer time to working at the Thrift Shop, upstairs and downstairs. She also seems eager to work in some of our programs: We Care, Operation School Bell, Literacy Services, and Operation Wildlife.

RITA VOGEL - learned about us from Mariann Tesauro. Rita works full time for a Honolulu dermatologist, and seems very interested in working at our Thrift Shop. For now, I will be her mentor.

TERRY MALTERRE - filled out an interest form in our Thrift Shop. Her mentor is Joan Helbling. Terry loves sports (volleyball and working out). She has aready started working upstairs in the Thrift Shop.

On Monday, November 24th, Linda McColgan, Helen Taufa'asau, Linda Andersen, Nancy Sparacino and Laurelyn Berger gave a presentation at One Kalakaua, a senior living community, right across the street from our Shop! We showed the video that highlights all Assistance League of Hawaii does for the community. We talked about our programs, Thrift Shop and volunteering. This event coincided with One Kalakaua's celebration of giving "thanks to the community". After the presentation we loaned them two of our bins for donations, and we will helped transport their donations back to the shop! They will continue to contribute donations using our bins until Thanksgiving, and hopefully they will continue donating whenever they want!

This was another opportunity to let others know about Assistance League of Hawaii — who we are and what we do! We also had a great time getting acquainted with some of our neighbors. I know we will get lots of donations from them, and I sensed that several of the residents are anxious to participate as community volunteers or even members!

Thanks to Gloria McGehee-Koel for initiating this opportunity to do our presentation. She worked tirelessly with the Activities Coordinator at One Kalakaua to make this happen.

At our February meeting we will again have a Games Day! It was a big success last year and fun was had by all. I encourage you to invite guests that might be interested in joining as members so they can see one of the fun aspects of joining Assistance League of Hawaii (There is no doubt that we are all dedicated volunteers making a difference in many ways in our community.) Due to the fact that our Games Day falls in February, we decided to postpone our Open House until April. We will keep you posted about a new date.

Congratulations Helen!

We would like to congratulate Helen Taufa'asau on winning the complimentary lunch in January. We appreciate everyone who participated in the initiative to distribute our business cards to five new individuals. Since the October business lunch, it is estimated that at least 65 new people have been introduced to Assistance League of Hawaii. We encourage you to continue sharing our business cards; additional cards are available in the Marketing file drawer located in the Ohana room.

Christmas Thrift Shop Sales Are Up!

The Thrift Shop had very healthy sales of over $37,000 during November, a 27% increase over the October sales. Thanks to the many members who helped out during our Christmas Work Party in early November. Our customers love the huge inventory of Christmas decor, and have been scooping up the bargains like crazy. Thanks also to Arden Moore and Patty Rosenberg for their hours of work in preparing the Sterling Silver Showcase on November 15th. We had record-setting sales of $7,300 that day. 

Be sure to tell your friends and neighbors to stop by during December to shop for holiday decor, stocking stuffers and Christmas gifts. As always, we have quality merchandise at bargain prices. When you get the Bid Box ad in your email, pass it along to a friend or relative, and let them know that they can bid by email. There are some amazing treasures available every month in our Bid Box, and it is a great source of income for us.

If you have some spare moments during December, stop by any Tuesday-Saturday to help out with our abundance of donations upstairs. No previous experience is necessary; we will provide training, and we guarantee that you will have fun too.

Mahalo for all that you do.

Photo inset above: The December Bid Box will include this beautiful set of International stainless flatware, with service for 18 and 11 serving pieces.

December 2025 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

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

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).

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