It's a bountiful time for volunteers
By Suzanne Roig
Advertiser East Honolulu Writer
Despite thousands of Hawai'i soldiers and Marines being deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan, shelters and other organizations serving Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow to the homeless and disadvantaged aren't having any trouble finding volunteers.
Bruce Asato • The Honolulu Advertiser
Many organizations have had to turn do-gooders away.
Institute for Human Services volunteer Jim Ariyoshi prepares his bread pudding at the Sumner Street men's shelter. He single-handedly prepared a meal for 400 people. Food is paid for by his church, Sacred Hearts, and served by the outreach ministry.
"We're really not hurting," said Merrie Susan Marchant, general manager of the River of Life Mission in Chinatown. "We filled up with volunteers by the middle of October."
Hawai'i has always been lucky to have so many military people willing to help out at shelters, serving and preparing dinners, nonprofit organizations say. For the most part the deployment has meant smaller numbers of military people volunteering across the board, but they still volunteer. Their diminished numbers have given others an opportunity to shine.
From members of the community like mortgage broker Jim Ariyoshi to spouses of soldiers stationed at Schofield Barracks, they all have heeded the call to help the disadvantaged.
"Selfless service is an Army value for a soldier," said Capt. Kathleen Turner of U.S. Army Hawai'i. "Contributing to a community, even though you're not born and raised in it, is second nature for members of the military."
And it takes an army to feed Hawai'i's homeless, with each organization serving hundreds of meals on one day. The River of Life Mission usually serves 500 to 700 meals on Thanksgiving. The Institute for Human Services plans on serving about 900 people with the help of the Hilton Hawaiian Village Beach Resort & Spa, which supplies and serves the meal. The Salvation Army is planning on serving food to 2,000 people. The Lanikila Meals on Wheels Program plans on delivering 1,000 hot meals to homebound senior citizens tomorrow.
"The military are saying that they can't commit the numbers, but they'll be here to help," said Margot Schrire, Institute for Human Services public relations and volunteer manager. "The deployment has hit us nonprofits who depend on the military to help."
People often remember to help at Thanksgiving and Christmas, Marchant said. The rest of the year, assistance programs need volunteer help, too, she said.
The Institute for Human Services will serve dinner from 3 to 5 p.m. at the Men's Shelter on 350 Sumner St. The Salvation Army will serve a traditional Thanksgiving meal at noon at the Neal Blaisdell Center. Music and entertainment begin at 9:30 a.m. Open to anyone who needs a meal or company. The Kalihi Palama Health Center serves meals to shut-ins. The River of Life Mission serves meals from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day at its center, which is at the corner of Maunakea and North Pauahi streets.
"Not all of our volunteers on Thursday will be here working on the Thanksgiving Day meal," Marchant said. "Some will pack food boxes and sort clothes and toys."
Where to go for help on Thanksgiving:
The nonprofit organizations say people volunteer so readily in Hawai'i because it's part of the culture. They say that on any night of the week they have volunteer groups from churches, schools and businesses offering to help cook and serve meals.
It was Jim Ariyoshi's turn to give something back to the community yesterday when he arrived at noon to prepare a meal for 400 people single-handedly. Later, members of his church helped serve his 56 pounds of pasta, garlic bread or rolls, salad and bread pudding for dessert. But early in the afternoon, it was Ariyoshi who stood over the pot of pasta sauce simmering on the stove at the Institute for Human Services in Iwilei.
Ariyoshi, the brother of former Gov. George Ariyoshi, has been volunteering in one form or another at the shelter for nearly 20 years. Every month he comes back to make the same meal, paid for by his church, Sacred Hearts, and served by the outreach ministry, he said.
"These are my own recipes," Ariyoshi said. "It must be a gift from God. I never went to cooking school or anything. It just comes naturally to me. I can plan a meal and make a list of ingredients and then cook it all up."
Having different people come to the shelter to prepare the food takes the burden off the shelter, Schrire said. And having military people there is a role model for veterans who are homeless.
"I'm always encouraged by what the military groups are doing for us," Schrire said. "They're doing what they can. We get a lot of attention at this time of year, but the rest of the year we struggle to get groups to prepare and serve meals for us."
The Salvation Army, which is expecting to serve 2,000 meals tomorrow, has 800 volunteers lined up. They will help prepare food in the kitchen, serve, make party favors, prepare the tables and clean up afterward.
"It's amazing how many people at this time of year want to volunteer and give back to the community for their Thanksgiving," said Daniel de Castro, Salvation Army public relations director. "We have other activities during the holidays and welcome volunteers at any other time, not just holidays.
"There's always an interest in volunteerism. We just wish that people would be willing to help us out at other times as well. Spread it out beyond Thanksgiving dinner."
Reach Suzanne Roig at sroig@honoluluadvertiser.com or 395-8831.
