OCTOBER MEMBERSHIP MEETING 

Wednesday, October 9, 2024 • 11:30 A.M.

Old Spaghetti Factory • Aloha Tower Marketplace

October 2024 Newsletter

Operation School Bell's Happy Student Shoppers

Let’s Continue With Our Good Work

September went by so quickly – hold onto your hats as we are keeping up the pace with October!

September was the month to make a Give Aloha / Kokua with Aloha Kala (KWAK) donation to Assistance League of Hawaii at any Foodland or Sack n Save Market. Your donations made between September 1 - 30 will receive additional funds from Foodland and Western Union. Thanks to all who have already made their donations. We will await the final tally in a couple of weeks.

Operation School Bell has held 3 in-store shopping events so far and served over 400 students! Thanks to all of the volunteers that make it happen so smoothly. If you want a chance to experience the smile on a student’s face, please join us at the final in-store event on October 19 th at the Kapolei Walmart, from 9-11:30. It’s such a rewarding experience and I encourage all members to come out and join us. Please contact me to volunteer for our next event.

It’s not too late to join us at the Spaghetti Factory for lunch. Please see the Hospitality section of this newsletter and reply before Friday, October 6. Our guests this month are ladies from a program we support called Kinai ‘Eha. They will explain a little more about this support given for young people moving forward after troubled starts. We also get to spend lunch with our community advisor, Mary Beth Lohman!

There are plenty of opportunities to help either upstairs or down with our thrift shop donations and merchandising. We can’t forget that the money that funds all our goodness starts with those $5 pants and shirt sales.

All programs are in full swing, so if you haven’t been involved, please ask how you can help. Kokua Clothing Boxes are going to be mailed to the neighboring islands shortly. Please help us pack up boxes and get them to the post office. Operation Wildlife and We Care can always use an extra hand.

Our chapter will be moving into a new database with National Assistance League's assistance, so your accessibility to information will be greatly enhanced. If you are interested in helping us key in data that would be great.

We look forward to a busy month and continued support for our keiki and community. Please make sure you are a part of all that happens.

Membership Meeting Venues for 2024-2025

Listed are the Venues for Assistance League of Hawaii Meetings and Luncheons October 2024 through May 2025. All Meetings begin at 11:30, with check-in beginning at 11:00.

Wednesday, October 9, 2024 – Old Spaghetti Factory - 3 Aloha Tower Drive, Honolulu, 96813

Wednesday, November 13, 2024 – 10:00 a.m. – Pu’uhale School -345 Pu’uhale Road, Honolulu. Small groups will meet in various areas of the school to discuss selected topics. Lunch will be provided.

Wednesday, December 11, 2024 - Annual Christmas Party will be held at the home of Robert Fox in Manoa - 2022 University Avenue, Honolulu, 96822.

Wednesday, January 15, 2025 - Natsunoya Tea House - 1935 Makanani Drive, Honolulu 96817

Wednesday, February 12, 2025 – Oahu Veterans Center – 1228 Kukila Street, Honolulu, 96828. The Hospitality Committee will host “Games Day” in Ballard Hall. Games will include Mahjong, Bingo, Bridge and others. Lunch will be provided.

Wednesday, March 12, 2025 – Small-group Strategic Planning Evaluation Meetings will be held at variousAssistance League of Hawaii members’ homes.

Wednesday, April 9, 2025 – To Be Announced

Wednesday, May 14, 2025 – Elks Club in Waikiki – 2933 Kalakaua Ave., Honolulu, 96815. Susan Bauer will be our host.

Mahalo for your donations to the Give Aloha fundraiser through Foodland last month. Your "Kokua With Aloha Kala" (KWAK) dollars are very much appreciated which support our programs and our keiki in need. 

Last May’s Charity Walk, through The Hawaii Lodging and Tourism Association, awarded Assistance League Hawaii a check for $4000.00. Thank you to the team that got up early and walked for this event and those of you who donated to this fundraiser.

Recognizing our New Members

and Recruiting for More

New members were recognized at the September 11 Members meeting. They include (L-R) Mary Wond, Constantine Fox, Bobby Black, Lorna Motas and Lisa Wilson.

At our September meeting four new members, Constantine Fox, Mary Wond, Lorna Motas and Bobby Black were introduced. They were recognized with lei and treated to lunch! Lisa Wilson, who joined last Fall, was also recognized.

The Alpha Delta Kappa women’s educators’ organization invited Assistance League of Hawaii to speak at their meeting on Monday, September 16 at Assagio’s Restaurant at Ala Moana Center. Nancy Sparacino and I were able to attend. We were treated with very generous hospitality and genuine interest in what our organization is all about. Nancy provided the attendees with a comprehensive overview of our programs, passed out Community Newsletters and shared a few photos and thank you notes we have received from some of the keiki in our programs. 

She also shared one of our Malama Bears for them to touch and hug, as well as a sample of one of our Lullaby Layette packets that are given to various hospitals. After Nancy's presentation, I talked about membership in Assistance League of Hawaii. There was much enthusiasm for what we do, and we all agreed that their organization and ours share similar missions. 

As a result, we received several generous donations from the eight women who attended, and we also received two requests for follow-up regarding membership! As a result of this positive experience, we are seeking to find other similar organizations to speak to about us! If you have any groups that might be interested, please let me know!

We have several orientations for potential new members scheduled and we hope to have some new members to announce at our October meeting!

Helen Taufa’asau Recognized With

President's Volunteer Service Award

Helen Taufa'asua is our 2024 recipient of the President’s Volunteer Service Award from U.S. President Joe Biden. This award honors individuals whose service positively impacts communities and inspires those around them to take action too. The award was presented to her at the September 11 Membership Meeting. 

Helen has made a big difference for many years at Assistance League of Hawaii. She has a heart of gold when it comes to keiki and families in need!

Photo above: Helen Taufa'asua (right) receives Presidential certificate from Margie Van Swearingen, our chapter Parliamentarian.

Programs Fair Informs Member Volunteers

All five Philanthropic Programs had displays and representatives available to engage with interested members at our Philanthropic Programs Fair held at the Veterans' Center on September 11, 2024.

A heartfelt thank you to all the chairs for their time and effort in setting up the displays.

Many Mahalos to the members who visited the tables, engaged in conversations, and even volunteered for various programs!

Operation School Bell^® Rings With Success

Two successful events were held for Operation School Bell’s in-store shopping initiative in September.

On September 14, we hosted an event at Walmart in Kapolei. This event welcomed numerous students from the Waianae Coast, who shopped for school clothing. Parents and school staff expressed their gratitude for the generosity of Assistance League of Hawaii.

Subsequently, on September 28, another event took place at Walmart on Ke'eaumoku St. in Honolulu. This event attracted 126 students from Kailani, Likelike, Palolo, Jarrett, and Kauluwela schools.

It was heartwarming to see all their smiling faces as they left with new clothes. The parents were also very appreciative. This marked our third in-store event for the year.

Looking ahead, Assistance League of Hawaii is planning one more shopping event on October 19 at Walmart in Kapolei. We hope more of you can join us for this opportunity.

Additionally, we appreciate everyone who has contributed thus far. The schools ordering t-shirts are responding more quickly this year. All of the Kokua Clothing Boxes on Oahu have been delivered, and we are now focusing on the neighbor islands. We will keep you informed when we need further assistance.

OWL Presentors Hit Hawaii Island Schools

Mary Monohon and Hazel Sumile took the first Neighbor Island Operation Wildlife (OWL) trip in September and visited the schools in the Waimea district on the Big Island. All the students as well as their teachers, without exception, were so excited and grateful for our visit and that made it all worthwhile. 

Below the students at Kohala Elementary show their excitement at holding an elephant's tooth (Yup! Just ONE tooth!) and touching the furs of many critters. So heartwarming to be so welcomed!

We Gather, Recycle and Share

With the recent arrival of the Airport Lost and Found items SHARE has been pretty much "closed" due to overcrowding of space in the bin area and the rest of the store.

Now that that has been worked through, we are able to start delivering to our Share Partners. Marty Kahoe made one delivery on Wednesday, September 25. Donations of clothing have been slow but that will pick up and we will be back on track. 

We are looking forward to a productive fall season with lots of really great items to donate to our Charity/Share Partners. If you have items to donate, we can always find use for them. It is a great way to recycle and share again.



Thrift Shop Featured on

J-Pop Music Video

Assistance League of Hawaii's Thrift Shop is among several hip locations on Oahu chosen for the latest music video and CD release of the popular Japanese boy band JO1.

Our store was featured in several prominent cutaways featuring JO1 members searching for clothes, hopping in their hot pink custom car, and just running in and out of our facility to the beat of the new, catchy J-Pop song titled "Where Do We Go".

Tell your friends and associates about this fun music video. Share it on your social media and emails.

You can view the video on our linked blog page or directly on YouTube. Just click on the graphic below.

How We Do the Bid Box & More

You enter the Shop. You look to the right and see the glass display full of wonderful things that you can bid on. How does this magic happen?

The Bid Box display is always so beautifully and intricately displayed to attract the buyer’s eye. Little does anyone know all the hard work that goes into making this so

special.

1. After spending hours sorting and organizing the jewelry, Arden Moore takes the items selected for the Bid Box to Brenda (our pro bono appraiser/friend) to look at and evaluate.

2. Arden then gives them to Margie for safekeeping

3. Margie and Arden meet to go over all the jewelry pieces to determine opening bids.

4. Margie and Nancy then review all the other potential items, check them for flaws and set the opening bids.

5. Nancy then takes all the items and sets them up in order to take pictures of each one to put on Constant Contact. In addition she creates an extraordinary description for each item.

6. Margie does a wonderful job of printing a description of each item on a card for the Bid Box display.

7. During the 3-week period, Nancy checks online and brings in all the email bids.

8. On closing day (after 3 weeks) Margie, Nancy, Peggy, Andrea and Sherri begin sorting all the bids and calling the winners once all the items are removed. The items are carefully wrapped, put in bags and stored in the proper areas for pick up. (Some really happy winners even come in that day to pay and pick up).

9. Once all of the above is done ……..the new treasures are set up in the display cabinet.

10. Then the process starts all over…………..

The “Downstairs Renovation Committee”, headed by Jim McClelland and Bobby Black, has been hard at work (from Saturday,September 28 to Monday, September 30) improving the section of the Thrift Shop behind the cash registers. Be sure to check out the great work.

THRIFT SHOP DATES TO REMEMBER:

Halloween – “open day” – Thursday, Oct. 31

Sat. Nov. 2 and Sunday, Nov. 3 – Christmas Work Party

The Thrift Shop will be closed from Thursday, December 26 through Tuesday, December 31. We will be reopening on Thursday, January 2, 2025.

October 2024 Thrift Shop

Cashiers’ 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). An email for this was sent out on September 30.

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