Assistance League of Hawaii Regular Meeting
Wednesday February 9, 2022 • Old Spaghetti Factory, Aloha Tower Marketplace • 11:00am to 1:00pm.
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Assistance League of Hawaii – February 2022 |
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Transforming Lives - Strengthening Community |
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MAKING A DIFFERENCE: Operation School Bell® member volunteers delivered the first of 39 reusable “Kokua Clothing Boxes” to the first two schools on Oahu. The lucky school recipients of the first batch include Kaiulani Elementary School in Kalihi-Palama (Principal Jill Texerira, Counselor Cathy Coulter) and Kauluwela Elementary School in Liliha (Vice-Principal Mike Zalopany, Amanda Miyataki, administrator). February will be busy for Operation School Bell as more Kokua Boxes will be delivered on Oahu, Molokai and the Big Island of Hawaii.
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Year of the Tiger –
Born to be Leaders!
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February 1st starts the beginning of the Chinese New Year. It is the Year of the Tiger, Water Tiger to be exact. Tigers are adventurous, ambitious and have a strong sense of justice. Leadership is the quality that we need most of our volunteers at Assistance League!
So, if you were born in 1950, 1962 or 1974 this is your year!
At the last member meeting, we asked for volunteers to be on the Nominating Committee to fill our leadership positions for the upcoming 2021-2022 fiscal year. They are: Nancy Sparacino, Paula Allen and Linda McColgan from our board and members are Ku‘ulei Pai, Joan Helbling, Carol Hasegawa and Vicki Fay. Kudos to these ladies that volunteered for this task. Please open your hearts to consider a board position for this next year. The committee will be looking for those Tigers in our midst! Kung Hee Fat Choy!
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Regular Meeting February 9 |
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The Regular Member Meeting and Luncheon will be at the Old Spaghetti Factory in Aloha Tower Marketplace on Wednesday February 9. The meeting will be held from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm. Parking is validated for an hour in the lot in front of the restaurant.
We will be celebrating Chinese New Year and Valentine’s Day. Please wear red!
The menu will include salads, bread, beverage, choice of three pastas and dessert. You make your choice at the luncheon, not ahead of time.
The price will be $25. RSVP no later than Monday, February 7 at 808 946-1505 or email at althrift281@gmail.com.
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Change for Change YO! The YO! (Youth Outreach) campaign begins on February 1, 2022, and runs through to April 15, 2022. The campaign aims to provide for some of the basic needs of the homeless and street‐identified youth. Because of restrictions with COVID-19, the Resource Development Committee members plan to distribute the limited number of Change for Change(C4C) Banks to our members at the Thrift Store beginning January 20. The Resource Committee sends a special invitation to our new members to participate in this campaign.
What is Youth Outreach? YO! Tucked in the busy streets of Waikiki is a “tiny bungalow” that is a “safe place” for our street-teens to leave the streets and find caring adults who are there to provide basic needs and many services to help these teens transition from the streets to a more stable environment. During the next few months, we at Assistance League of Hawaii will be part of the solution that encourages youth, families, and communities to actualize their potential and social responsibility.
Join us to be part of YO! Contact one of the following member volunteers to make arrangements to get one of the limited-edition Change for Change (C4C) Banks.:
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Carol Hasegawa (cchasegawa@aol.com)
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Joan Helbling (helbling@hawaii.rr.com)
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Linda Andersen (avandersen@gmail.com)
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Ramping Up For New Meetings |
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This year we welcome our members back to in-home evaluation meetings (COVID-19 permitting!!!).
These meetings will take place on Wednesday March 9th at 10:30 am at various member volunteer homes. Alternatively, plan "B" is to conduct these meetings via Zoom.
For those of you who have never attended these meetings, they are a great way to meet in a smaller group setting and share ideas and suggestions for our chapter's future.
You are all vital to the success of Assistance League of Hawaii!
Additional information will be given at our February regular meeting and in the March newsletter.
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OWL to Interact With Students Again |
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If you are looking for something interesting to do that will get you interacting with children once the pandemic is under control, you may want to consider volunteering to help with the Operation Wildlife (OWL) program. You will get to know about the many biofacts we have that are taken to schools to show the students, and to share your knowledge with very curious and excited children.
We have prepared “Cheat Sheets” that you can use for whichever group of biofacts you are monitoring. A picture of the Cheat Sheet for the Hawaii and the World table is posted below this article, along with a picture of what that table could look like. Both will be available in the suitcase for OWL volunteers to use.
Any volunteer who wishes to go to the schools must be fully vaccinated and have the COVID-19 vaccination card available to show the school office, along with a picture ID, in order to enter the building.
If you think you might be interested, contact Hazel Sumile at hazelsumile@gmail.com. You’ll be very glad you did!
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Getting the Word Out with Images |
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We had a very successful post on the Nextdoor website this month. It resulted in a sale of the mid-century modern dish set for $450. We may try using Nextdoor on other high-end donations.
Our very first TikTok post was made on January 11. Our first video consisted of a Chinese dragon dancing for New Year. The same video was posted on Facebook. You can follow our TikTok at https://www.tiktok.com/@assistanceleaguehawaii.
A press release was submitted to MidWeek regarding Operation School Bell’s Kokua Clothing Boxes.
A request to cashiers and others working in the Thrift Shop: Look for photo and video opportunities! If you take any photos / videos please remember that release forms are needed (excluding Assistance League volunteers). A folder with blank releases forms is now located behind the register instructions at Register 1. Once completed send photo / video to linda.mccolgan@hotmail.com. File the completed form in the same folder.
Our top Facebook post this month was on January 16 regarding our Philanthropic Services run 100% by volunteers. The good news is that we continue to increase the number of followers on Facebook.
Our posts and committee action items are tied to the Strategic Plan; specifically these five objectives:
- Increase Quality Donations
- Increase and Promote Thrift Store sales
- Increase Member Volunteers
- Highlight Philanthropic Programs
- Improve Community Awareness
If you have feedback or suggestions for our committee please let one of us know: Linda McColgan, Melvin Ah Ching, Jodie Mori and Lisa Nay.
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Donations and sales have been very good for January. Some of our “snowbirds” are back including Diann King, Patti Schultz, Gail Waite and Jan Reiter. They are powerhouses. Member volunteer Betty Burrell stopped by with nice donations too.
Please remember that before any furniture is donated, it should be viewed and assessed by someone on the Thrift Shop committee. Large sets of dishes (service for 12 etc.) are very difficult to sell unless they are exceptional or unusual. It’s ok to discourage such donations.
Help is needed and appreciated upstairs. All jobs are important. Members have been very generous in filling Nancy’s monthly schedule, so the ship sails smoothly. Thanks to everyone.
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February 2022 Thrift Shop Calendar
The Thrift Shop is open Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays
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Your Monthly Service Hours |
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Where there’s a will, there’s a way! Despite all the challenges of COVID-19, our amazing members have donated more than 13,000 hours of service last year. Please make every effort to send me your hours. Just email vandwfay@mac.com or phone me at (808) 282-0878.
Many thanks, Vicki Fay
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Assistance League of Hawaii can always use your help to make Hawaii’s people happy. Top left: One of our regular customers loves to buy books from the Thrift Shop. Top right: Member volunteers prep containers destined for Hawaii schools as part of Operation School Bell. Lower left: Operation Wildlife will be gearing up for in-school visits as they did before the pandemic. Bottom right: Our cool Thrift Shop member volunteers ham it up for another social media photo. |
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Amazon.com donates 0.5% of qualifying AmazonSmile purchases to the charitable organization of your choice. Why not choose Assistance League of Hawaii? Here’s how it works:
2) Sign in with your Amazon.com credentials (Amazon Prime can be used too.)
3) Select Assistance League of Hawaii as the charitable organization.
4) Start shopping!
5) You can add a bookmark for smile.amazon.com to make it easier to return again to shop at AmazonSmile.
Once you have Assistance League of Hawaii registered with your Amazon Smile account, every time you shop at Amazon that .5% of your purchases help us!
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Newsletter Editor: Melvin Ah Ching assistanceleaguehimarketing@gmail.com
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