Assistance League of Hawaii Regular Membership Meeting

Wednesday, October 11, 2023 • Natsunoya Tea House

1935 Makanani Drive, Honolulu 96817 • Check in 11:00 am

October 2023 Newsletter

Reciting the Pledge of Allegiance opens our Regular

Membership Meetings every month.

Full Speed Ahead for October

We enter October full speed ahead, our programs busy as ever and our Thrift Shop chugging along to fund the good work that we do. To date our Maui Relief fund has received nearly $14,000 in donations, many of which have come from members of Assistance League chapters across the country. They are trusting us to put those funds to their best use for the people of Maui affected by the wildfires. As students on Maui are getting settled into new school situations, we will attempt to meet their needs with clothing and school supplies. We will also assist teachers who were displaced from their homes, as well as their classrooms. Assistance League of Hawaii will make a difference.

Some of you may be aware that our Property Manager, Jim McClelland, has been working to have a new front entry door installed at the Thrift Shop. Because nothing is ever simple, the installation of the door has presented many challenges. It has taken nearly two weeks and many visits and revisits by the door company. Jim and Peggy Monell have spent many hours waiting with the door workmen, getting new keys made, conferring with the alarm company and communicating new procedures to those who need to lock and unlock the front door. At this writing, the job is almost done. Thank you all for your patience and understanding. 

We hope to see many of you at our meeting and luncheon on October 11 at Natsunoya Tea House, where we will hear about the latest accomplishments of our programs and have a delicious Japanese lunch among friends.

Mahalo for all that you do.

Next Member Meeting at

Natsunoya Tea House on October 11

The October Meeting & Luncheon will be held on Wednesday, October 11 at Natsunoya Tea House House, 1935 Makanai Drive, Honolulu 96817.

Reservations are made by email to althrift281@gmail.com

Parking is free. Carpooling is highly recommended.

The Menu is as follows: White Rice, Oriental Salad, Hibachi Chicken, Agedashi Tofu, Shrimp & Vegetable Tempura, Teriyaki Beef, Noodles, Potato Salad, Fresh Fruit, Dessert. Lunch will be Buffet Style.

Note: Feel free to bring your own container for leftovers.

Deadline for Reservations is Saturday, October 7th

Price is $35.00 per person.

The itinerary is as follows:



11:00 - 11:30 am - Check In

11:30 am - 12:30 pm - Meeting

12:30 - 1:30 Lunch

President’s Award to be Presented

There have been 23 President’s Volunteer Service Award recipients in Assistance League Hawaii.

The President’s Volunteer Service Award is the premier volunteer awards program in the United States, encouraging citizens to live a life of service through presidential gratitude and national recognition.

The award recognizes US citizens and lawfully admitted residents of the US who have achieved the required number of 4,000 or more cumulative service hours over the course of a lifetime.

Three Lifetime Award certificates and pins will be awarded at the Membership Meeting on Wednesday, October 11, 2023.

Welcome New Members

Welcome two new members who both come from a long line of volunteering:

Jennifer Turvold will be helping at Pu'uhale School Library. Jen has volunteered for Common Grace mentoring and River of Life Mission and is interested in all our programs. Thank you, Ginger Fujimoto, for introducing Jennifer to us!

Minta Nishimura is very active with her church outreach and has decided to lend us a hand as well. You will see Minta learning the ropes upstairs at the Thrift Shop and also helping Linda Tsark with Malama Bear distribution. Minta is Linda’s sister-in-law and we welcome her with open arms.

Please don’t be shy if you know family or friends that might be looking for a volunteer opportunity. Our chapter is an easy drop-in volunteer opportunity that appeals to many “busy” but retired people.

November Vote for Strategic Plan

Ready to vote? The Five-Year Strategic Plan for Assistance League of Hawaii has been approved by our Board of Directors. It will be presented to you at the November lunch meeting. Following a discussion and a vote from you, our members, we will have a guide to be able to continue the good work that we do for another five years.

Program Fair a Huge Success

Our Philanthropic Programs Fair was a huge success! After a brief introduction about each of our Programs (Operation School Bell, Operation Wildlife, Outreach, Share and We Care), all those attending the meeting were given a "passport" to visit the program tables, where members were able to find out more about the programs, ask questions about ways to volunteer, and sign-up to volunteer! 

These passports were stamped at each program table. Those with all five stamps entered a drawing for prizes. Grand prize was a free lunch and was won by Dianne Girard. Hopefully, everyone kept their passport as it contained the names and phone numbers of all the Chairs.

A lot of planning, time and effort went into this event. Our chairs, Laurelyn Berger (OSB)), Hazel Sumile (OWL), Miho Teipel (Outreach), Karen and Marty Kehoe (Share), and Linda Tsark (We Care) worked tirelessly putting together displays that were visually appealing and informative.

The success of this event can be measured by comments made by some of our chairs:

Mary Monohon noted that we got two new members that day. 

Hazel Sumile has a new member who is very excited about volunteering for OWL.

Miho Teipel shared that several people expressed interest in being on the Outreach Committee.

Karen and Marty Kehoe reported that there are some members who are interested in "ride-alongs" to get a better understanding of the routes and programs that are served by Share.

Linda Tsark noted that several members signed-up for some of the projects, and two volunteers signed up to be leaders - for Domestic Violence and Malama Bears. One person offered to shop for Youth Outreach.

More continued below photos.

Mahalo to several other people who helped put this event together:

Nancy Sparacino - was very supportive and allotted a big portion of meeting time for this event. Jane Winslow - helped secure a great venue.



Ku'ulei Pai - spent many hours creating the centerpieces along with signs for each of the programs. The Resource Development Team (especially Linda Andersen) created "Give Aloha" flags for each table centerpiece with names of programs. Gloria McGehee-Koel - donated her time to help with the design and graphics for the passports.



Thanks also to Ginger Fujimoto for helping with the drawing for prizes and being available to help wherever needed.

Hopefully, this Philanthropic Fair can become an annual event that will continue to give all members a clear understanding of our programs and how important our volunteers are to the success of these programs.

News From the Programs

Operation School Bell (OSB): Laurelyn Berger wanted to thank everyone again for helping to make the in-store shopping event such a success! Also, Operation School Bell is starting to receive t-shirt orders from some of the schools.

Operation Wildlife (OWL) kicked off the new school year with an early Neighbor Island trek to Waimea on the Big Island. Three volunteers, Linda Andersen, Marge Fabre, and Hazel Sumile flew into Kona, then spent three days working with a total of 7 schools, 227 students and 20 teachers/adults.

The OWL teams had not visited for 3 years and the teachers who were familiar with the program were happy to have them return. There were several new teachers as well, and they and their students enjoyed the presentation and opportunity to see and touch real animal biofacts!

Comments from the Volunteer team members: We worked hard but it was so rewarding, plus we got to see some new places! For Linda Andersen, it was a chance to revisit where she lived until the age of 6, even getting to buy stuff at the Nakahara Store, which is still operational today.

Teachers and students were happy with the program changes, and glad to see us back. Even community members who knew what we were doing there thanked us for coming to help their children. Heart-warming!

The year is just beginning. If you want to be involved in something like this, where you get to actually work with the children our Assistance League of Hawaii touches, come join in! There is still lots of time to get in your two Oahu schools and maybe get to visit some Neighbor Islands this year.

Outreach: As a result of the fire that destroyed the town of Lahaina, there is a lot of interest in helping with the emergency needs of keiki and families on the island of Maui. A committee has been formed to help with the task of finding ways we can help and includes: Ginger Fujimoto, Cathy Kissell, Peggy Monell, Mary Monohon, Ku'ulei Pai, and Jane Winslow.

Share: Karen and Marty Kahoe received a lovely thank you note from the Kokua Kalihi Valley Family Comprehensive Family Programs about our donation of fabric for their sewing ladies. They make clothing, including beautiful mu'umu'us, for their families and relatives.

We Care: Linda McColgan delivered toilet paper, shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste and baby wipes to Domestic Violence Action Center and Linda Tsark has plans to deliver 2 bags of Malama Bears to Kaiser Hospital.

A Layette Packing Party is being planned for October 27 at Mary Kay Junk's house.

Linda Tsark is still looking for a few more leaders to manage one of the We Care projects, including managing the volunteers within the project. This would be a great opportunity for someone to take on a leadership role with Assistance League of Hawaii, under the guidance of Linda. We Care is expanding and is in need of volunteers willing to step-up to take this on!

Assistance League of Hawaii Receive $3,000

from the Hawaii Visitor Industry Charity Walk

Assistance League of Hawaii members and student volunteers from the University of Hawaii had a successful Charity Walk on May 4, 2023. The Hawaii Lodging and Tourism Association awarded Assistance League Hawaii with a check for $3,000, of which $1053.48 was generated through the participation of volunteer walkers.

Thank you to University of Hawaii liaison Vic Flint and Assistance League of Hawaii’s Hazel Sumile for organizing the walkers for this successful event.

Assistance League Hawaii will use the funds to support its programs and services that will continue to make a positive impact on the lives of many people in Hawaii.

An additional mahalo to all who supported Assistance League of Hawaii in Foodland’s 2023 Give Aloha campaign. We will receive the final figures at the end of October.

Assistance League of Hawaii members and volunteers at the May 2023 Hawaii Visitor Industry Charity Walk.

Help You With Online Tech

Do you have questions about how to use our website or Facebook? Or where to find information on our website? Our team is ready, willing and able to meet one-on-one or with a small team.

We have created a new repository for photos! If you have photos, need photos or a photo release please contact us. 

assistanceleaguehimarketing@gmail.com

September Sales Were Great!

The Thrift Shop continues to do well. September sales were over $27,000, with one day reaching over $3,500. Lots of “Raves” over the September luncheon – thanks to the due diligence and outstanding work of Jane Winslow and the set-up crew. Lots of good comments about the menu and caterer. Thanks to Jane and all who helped.

We have a new door that is not working properly. Jim is on top of this situation and we ask your patience. Get your new key if you really need one and sign up with me.

Donations have been plentiful. We are lucky to have our “Tuesday Tornado” back for a few weeks. This refers to Gail Jensen, an Assistance League of Hawaii member from Arcadia, CA. When she is here, things are priced and cleared quickly from the workroom table and area. Thank you, Gail. We also have new members who are eager to help upstairs.

The Halloween items have been priced and displayed. We have a small inventory of Thanksgiving pieces, which will be displayed later this month. This gives us time to store up our energy for the big deal, the Christmas Work Party.

Be sure to mark your calendar for the Christmas Pot Luck Work Party on Saturday, November 4 (after 3:00) – and Sunday, November 5 – (9:00-4:00). More details will be announced soon.

Boo!

An idea for October 11:

When witches go riding,

and black cats are seen,

The moon laughs

and whispers,

‘tis near Halloween.

Wear your favorite costume,

or witch's hat to fright,

A little trick or treat,

with some candy to delight!”

– Ku’ulei Lara Pa’i

October 2023 Thrift Shop

Cashier's Calendar

Report Your Monthly Service Hours

Whether you work on one of our many programs, in the Thrift Shop or other at-home tasks, it is important to count your hours every month. Please notify us of your hours by clicking the email button below.

Your volunteer hours will be added to the monthly grand total for Assistance League of Hawaii.

A Pebble in the Pond is a timely, timeless look at a modern story with deep roots: In the 1890’s a dynamic and innovative woman named Anne Banning formed the Assistance League and did local charitable work that focused on children. The documentary tells Anne’s story and traces the history of the Assistance League from its humble beginnings to a call to action following the 1906 San Francisco earthquake; through Red Cross innovations and two World Wars and more.

The film explores Assistance League’s signature program, Operation School Bell, and how it is implemented on the U.S. West Coast. The 2022 movie was written and directed by Paul Howard and features Ann Benson, Karis Campbell and Abby Shayne. The film streams for free with ads on TUBI TV or commercial free on Amazon Prime Video (subscription required).

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