Aloha Friend of Big Brothers Big Sisters Hawai'i,
On May 16th, Little Sister Victoria Cuba graduated from the University of Hawaii at Manoa (UHM) with a double major in Journalism and Communications. Victoria has been matched with her Big Sister, Margaret Takahashi, for the past 10+ years and says that Margaret is a great inspiration and friend to her.
When Victoria was attending Waipahu High School, she, her mom and younger brother were homeless. Through the school's video production program, Victoria shared her situation in the hope that it would help other homeless students see that they can still succeed in school and realize their dreams. It was a very brave thing to do, and she also admitted that another reason for doing it was for herself -- to stop hiding the fact from everyone -- even Big Sister Margaret.
We're grateful and proud to have helped Victoria financially with college scholarships ranging from $3,000 to $6,000 per year in each of her four years at UHM. The scholarships came courtesy of a group of donors, led by our own Foundation Board Member, Neill Char, who were so inspired by Victoria and her story that they created a scholarship for public high school graduates who attend the University of Hawaii. The scholarship is affectionately named "EIH BRAH", which stands for Educated in Hawaii, Born and Raised as Hawaiian.
Huge Congratulations to Victoria, her family, her Big Sister Margaret, her Case Manager(s) Christine and Danielle, and of course the EIH BRAH donors and all of you who support Big Brothers Big Sisters Hawai‘i in so many ways.
With gratitude and aloha,
Dennis Brown
President / CEO
(and Hawaii's first "Little Brother")
|
|
|
|
Click HERE to watch a special mahalo from Little Sister Victoria Cuba
|
|
|
|
Our Keaau Bigs and Littles had a blast making their own hula hoops and learning different ways to utilize them to stay healthy. Thank you to Pamela Owens for instructing our matches and challenging them to a friendly competition.
|
|
|
Congratulations to our School-Based Big Sister of the Year, Madison Hara! Madison has been a Big Sister for two years at our Keaau site. Over the course of her match with Little Sister Samantha, they have gotten along fabulously together and have formed a truly meaningful relationship. Thanks to Aloha Shoyu, Madison received a $250 scholarship! Pictured above is Madison and her parents. |
|
|
|
A BIG Mahalo to Mark Oyama, Mark Sueyasu and the entire team of volunteers and mentors who supported Big Brothers Big Sisters of Kauai’s annual Resiliency & Team Building Retreat at the Pu’uloa Reservoir in Koke’e. It was a day full of fun, reflection, and engaging activities. Mahalo to everyone who attended this incredible fishing field trip!
|
|
|
|
Congratulations to our Kaua‘i Big Sister of the Year, Brittain McGinnis! Brittain has been a Big Sister for the past four years. She was one of Kapa’a High School's valedictorians and will be attending a film/art school in California in the Fall. We are extremely thankful for Brittain's many years of mentoring and love for Kauai’s keiki.
|
|
|
The month of May just zipped on through! Mahalo Maui Zipline for providing free zip tours for our program participants throughout the entire month. Pictured are our Mentor Center Program youth and staff who were all first time zippers. They were excited and terrified, but challenged themselves to do something out of their comfort zone. It was a great way to end the program year! |
|
|
|
We happily welcomed three new matches to our Community-Based Mentoring Program ‘ohana: Big Brother Steven and Little Brother Keanu (Left), Big Brother Jeremy and Little Brother Noah (Middle), and Big Sister Bryn and Little Sister Isabella (Right). We are so excited to see their friendships grow!
|
|
|
Mahalo to Pu’u Kukui Elementary and Panda Express for helping us put together this fun-filled event. It was a great evening watching The Secret Life of Pets with our families of the Hale Makana O Waiale community. |
|
|
|
Go for the GOLD and join us for a fun-filled day of bowling, entertainment, and friendly competition to raise funds for Maui’s at-risk keiki.
|
|
|
On May 12th, we held our Holomua Senior Send Off event at YWCA Kokokahi. It was an incredibly joyous and proud time for everyone--especially for our Bigs who gave heartfelt speeches to their graduating Littles. It was even more special to be rejoined by three alumni graduates of our Holomua Mentoring Program who were able to give a little mana’o of what college is like to the incoming college freshman. It was truly a humbling and loving environment that day. |
|
|
|
Congratulations to Big Sister Anna Dao who was awarded the O‘ahu School-Based Big Sister of the Year award for the 2017-2018 school year. Anna has been a Big Sister at Makalapa Elementary and matched Little Sister Kiley for all of her 4 years at Radford High School. Anna has helped her Little to grow in more ways than one. Her Little reflects off of all her positive guidance and mentorship.
|
|
|
|
On May 10th, we held the 5th annual Perfect Pairings event at the Oahu Country Club hosted by Master Sommelier Patrick Okubo. It was an incredible evening filled with great food, phenomenal wine pairings, and a special honoring of Chris Benjamin along with his Little Brother of 33 years. Mahalo to all who participated and supported this event helping us raise a record $112,000 (net) for the organization.
|
|
|
Harold K.L. Castle Foundation has challenged us to recruit 50 volunteer Big Brothers/Sisters by September 31, 2018 for our college focused Holomua Mentoring Program. Help us unlock the $50,000 donation while making a BIG difference in the future of a high school student. Contact 808-695-4556 to get started today!
|
|
|
|
