It's a time when we all can Make a Difference
By Mary Kaye Ritz
Advertiser Staff Writer
Plenty of people already have been making a difference around O'ahu well ahead of Oct. 25, the day designated for community good works.
Advertiser library photo • 2002
At Palama Settlement, plans are being finalized for a free neighborhood Halloween mini-carnival, said Lynne Akana, site coordinator for Palama Settlement's Family Service Center. An inflatable jumper is lined up, the games are in order and the volunteers are being gathered from Prudential Locations, Prudential Insurance and Wells Fargo, the project sponsors.
Last year, Brooke Yokoyama, 12, and her mother Lyndee Yokoyama, right, of Waikiki collected canned food donations for Make a Difference Day in front of the state Capital.
"They're putting on a pretty big deal," said Akana, adding that the morning carnival will include a maze and entertainment by keiki from Mayor Wright Housing.
While it's early yet, groups are putting together their project plans for Make A Difference Day, a nationwide effort to make the world a better place through community service. The effort is sponsored by USA Weekend and the Points of Light Foundation, and thousands around the Islands participate each year.
On O'ahu alone, some 600 soldiers from the Army Community Service organization tackled more than three dozen projects islandwide last year. Nationwide, participation was estimated at 3 million in 2002.
Enter your project after completion by the mid-November deadline. You may be among the 10 honorees to whom Paul Newman will donate $10,000. (He gives all the proceeds from the sale of his Newman's Own products to charity.)
Akana predicts the carnival will draw about 300 to 500 kids and their families from three communities (Mayor Wright as well as the Ka'ahumanu and Kamehameha Homes housing projects). Prudential's Noele Kanemoto said they're still recruiting volunteers from Prudential and beyond.
Not all projects will be throw-the-bag-through-the-clown's-mouth fun and tic-tac-toe games, however. Collections for the needy and sprucing up projects for the 'aina are also popular, and this year is no exception.
Make a Difference Day
Included in the Make a Difference DAYtaBANK (available online at makeadifferenceday.com) are projects for: fixing up schools; rebuilding a greenhouse for indigenous Hawaiian plants; collecting textbooks for an elementary school in the Philippines; and collecting toys, books and clothing for an outreach program.
Susan Luehrs at Hawaii Fi-Do Service Dogs said her group, which includes Ko'olauloa Youth Organization, is working to fix up the Life Center, a vocational center in Kahuku used by students and senior citizens.
And Meg Barth Gammon, a parent facilitator and substitute teacher at Kalaheo High School, said her group is on their sixth year of projects. They won $2,000 from the Points of Light Foundation for a project in 1999. This year, they'll be mulching, erecting a wall, and painting curbs and buildings. She's especially in need of someone to donate snacks.
"And if there's anyone with carpentry or masonry experience, we'd love that," Gammon said.
"It really is a chance for the community to come out and help."
