Posted on: Thursday, October 25, 2001

Pu'uhale students' service project has lasting advantages

By Katherine Nichols
Advertiser Staff Writer

Students at Pu'uhale Elementary School will feel the difference on their Kalihi campus after "Make a Difference Day" tomorrow.

About 75 people are expected to help with painting, raking, sweeping and "general beautification of the grounds," said Judy McKeague, business and community liaison for the Hawai'i Job Corps in Waimanalo.

"Make a Difference Day" is a national initiative. McKeague said this particular venture was created in conjunction with America's Promise, a subsidiary of Helping Hands Hawai'i.

Because the Hawai'i Job Corps is a trade school, where students ages 16 to 24 learn skills like painting and landscaping, such volunteer activities benefit the participants in several ways. "It puts them out in the community and helps them get ready for the work force," McKeague said.

But the biggest advantage of community service in the form of a tangible project is the "self-esteem building" and leadership skills that result.

"They get the feeling of helping others," McKeague said. "It's a way of reaching out and making someone's life a little better."