PAY IT FORWARD

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For the past couple of months, Punahou Academy students in Chinese IV Honors have engaged in various community service activities as part of the SECR (Spiritual, Ethical, Community, Responsibility) aspect of the course.  Students can tutor, work at Wo Center's Chinese Immersion Program, or participate in any other community service project approved by the teacher.

Recently, many students have been volunteering with their teacher, Ms. Laura Chang-Blust, also known as "Zhang Laoshi," at Palolo Chinese Home (PCH) and making a difference there.  Chinese language students volunteer for about three hours each visit and bring games and stories to share with the elderly who go to PCH for daycare.

I personally feel that it is a wonderful experience to interact with the senior citizens at PCH because I know that they look forward to our visits.  It makes me happy to know that I can make a small difference in someone's life and brighten PCH citizens' day.  At first I was really shy and unsure of how to go about interacting with the elderly, but getting to know the seniors at PCH allowed me to improve my interaction skills and learn more about myself.

The community service hours that Chinese language students are accumulating also contribute toward receiving a $5,000 grant sponsored by the Weinberg Foundation that will be donated to Palolo Chinese Home.

This past March, the 15th Annual Honolulu Jewish Film Festival screened films that celebrate Jewish culture from March 4-26, and the Honolulu Museum of Art Spalding House also held its monthly "Bank of Hawaii Family Sunday" event to give children and parents another opportunity to learn about Jewish art, stories, and culture.

A child visitor participating in the Jewish-themed activities and creating a mask.

While talking with Gloria Katz, a leader of one of the event's Yiddish activities, I learned about the importance of teaching Jewish culture. She shared that before the Holocaust, millions of Jewish people spoke Yiddish. However, after the Holocaust, there was a huge decline in the number of Yiddish-speaking Jewish people. Since many people like Gloria believe that languages are reflections of different cultures and backgrounds, Gloria hopes to share that Jewish culture is not something to be suppressed, but to be celebrated, by keeping Yiddish alive.

As I watched the curiosity and fascination these kids had while listening to stories and creating pieces of art, I was so glad that I decided to participate in and help out at this special Family Sunday event.  It's my hope that the children and their families also learned something about Jewish culture and Yiddish that day so that Gloria's wish will come to fruition.

Have you ever seen volunteers with red kettles and ringing bells at your local grocery store during the holiday season?  Every year, volunteers across the nation participate in the "Red Kettle Christmas Campaign" to help provide basic necessities and disaster-related help to millions.

Courtesy of The Salvation Army of the Carolinas

The Salvation Army, an evangelical part of the universal Christian Church and an organization making lasting impacts around the world, is committed to providing basic social services to those who are in need.

Although The Salvation Army may be most well-known for its Red Kettle Christmas Campaign, the organization also leads a number of other campaigns and events.

For example, The Salvation Army's Hawaiian and Pacific Islands Division sponsors an Annual Thanksgiving Dinner which brings together roughly 2,000 beneficiaries and 900 volunteers for a night of service and camaraderie.  This event is only made possible by volunteers who help prepare and serve the complete Thanksgiving meals, and local hoteliers and restaurants that provide the food itself.  This special event represents a large part of what The Salvation Army stands for in terms of service and community interaction.

Courtesy of The Salvation Army — Hawaiian & Pacific Islands

To get involved in more fun and rewarding volunteer opportunities for The Salvation Army, please follow this link https://volunteer.usawest.org/Home.aspx to view the different types of service options available.

Located between Diamond Head and Koko Head, Maunalua Bay is considered to be one of the many cultural and environmental treasures of Oahu. Malama Maunalua, a community-based, non-profit organization, strives for abundant marine life, clean water, and kuleana for the bay.  

Image from http://www.thousandwonders.net

Since 2005, Malama Maunalua has implemented long-term conservation initiatives for the bay such as successfully removing over 3.5 million pounds of invasive algae, maintaining over 28 acres of the bay, and engaging over 10,000 volunteers. From working professionals to retirees and school kids, Malama Maunalua welcomes all to staff and volunteer for the organization.

Image from http://www.to-hawaii.com/

Community Huki

The Community Huki is a monthly volunteer event that brings the community together to restore the health of Maunalua Bay. All volunteers learn more about the organization, the problems facing Maunalua Bay, and the three main types of invasive alien algae that are removed. Most community events are held at the reef flat near Paikō Beach in Maunalua Bay.

*All volunteers are required to fill out a waiver form

Image from http://www.malamamaunalua.org/

Volunteer Internships

Mālama Maunalua is always seeking interns to help with research, field work, outreach, and database management. To apply, please send a letter of interest and your resume to volunteer@malamamaunalua.org.

Image from http://www.malamamaunalua.org/

Huki Volunteer Leaders

Huki events require a lot planning, coordinating of volunteer support, and post-event support.

Responsibilities of Volunteer Leaders:

• Assist in setting up/breaking down huki events, as well as provide support during the event.

• Help conduct Invasive Alien Algae (IAA) assessments before and after each huki to determine effectiveness of the event.

• Assist in quarterly monitoring of IAA at select locations in the bay.

• Assist in the launching of Malama Maunalua's new "Adopt a Plot" project.

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Do you enjoy making crafts?  What about chatting with friends, doing some quick community service, eating food while you're at it, and jamming out to music?  If even one of these points sounds appealing to you, consider joining an Academy art club called ImageNation.

Rebecca "Becca" Haynes '17, ImageNation Club Founder and President, kindly answered a few questions when I inquired about her club.

Back when Becca first entered the Academy as a freshman, she perused the club offerings in hopes of finding an art club.  Since the Punahou Academy offers such a wide variety of clubs, Becca thought that there had to be a club focused on drawing, painting, and other art forms.

To Becca's dismay, she was unable to find the club she'd hoped for.  With encouragement from friends, Becca decided to found her own club: ImageNation.

Becca acknowledged that "the goal of this club is to provide a relaxing, no-judgement space for anyone and everyone to create art." ImageNation members can also explore new styles and mediums of art, aside from traditional styles of arts and crafts many are familiar with.

ImageNation members revamped a cart for Kapiolani Medical Center with colorful paintings.

ImageNation also has a major community service component as many of the art projects made by the club are donated to the community. Becca stated that "many of the activities that set ImageNation on the path of service were founded and organized by Ms. Hail."

Ms. Hail, ImageNation's club advisor, often presents community service requests she receives from the Luke Center or colleagues to the club as suggestions for group activities. Recently, Becca has also started to play a major role in incorporating community service-based art projects into ImageNation's agenda.


Some recent "big projects" for the club include painting two carts for the Kapiolani Medical Center's Children's Wing, creating a wall-length drawing of a girl and boy reading displayed in Cooke Library, and painting a mural for the Easter Seals Autism Center.

I've had the pleasure of attending a gathering for ImageNation a few months ago. The meeting's activity was to create Halloween cards for the Kapiolani Medical Center as tray favors for patients.

At the club meeting, there was music, tasty guacamole and chips, crayons, colored pencils, watercolor, cardboard paper, other art supplies scattered everywhere, and lots of talk and laughter in the Luke Center Lilypond Room. At the end of the gathering, not only was there a sizeable pile of cards to donate to the hospital, but big smiles on members' faces as a result of being able to distress, catch up with friends, and give back to the community all at once.


The club gathers roughly once a month for 90 minutes after school, often on Tuesdays. If anyone is interested in learning more about ImageNation, you can contact Becca at rhaynes17@punahou.edu.