December 2016: Big & Little Scoops

Big Brothers Big Sisters Hawaii's Monthly E-Newsletter
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Dear Paul,

It sure has been the most wonderful time of the year and we are blown away by the generosity of our community - the generous time that our Bigs, Littles, and Parents give to our programs every day, the generous gifts that our Holiday Angels provided for families in-need at Christmas, and the generous support that our partners continue to show through events, collaborations, and donations.

Sincere thank you to everyone who supported Big Brothers Big Sisters Hawaii on Hawai'i Island, Kaua'i, Maui, and O'ahu in 2016. We look forward to great things to come in the new year!

With aloha,

Dennis Brown
President / CEO
(and first "Little Brother")

PS. Check out our upcoming events on Hawai'i Island, Kaua'i, Maui, and O'ahu!

Match-a-versaries

Happy FOUR YEAR Anniversary to Ruth and Jenny!

Click here to see a list of all the other Bigs and Littles who celebrated a match-a-versary in December.

Island Scoops

HAWAI'I ISLAND

We are grateful for all of our Holiday Angels on Hawai'i Island: The Wakano Family, Hawai`i Executive Realty, LLC, and Regional Board Member Annette Leung! Holiday Angels help make the holidays a bit brighter for the keiki in our program by sponsoring a family in-need for Christmas. Holiday Angel gifts were presented to Little Brother Cyrus and to Little Brother Keali`i as well as to their families at Liliuokalani Park earlier this month. Special thanks to the team at Hawai`i Executive Realty for donating individual goodie bags to our Bigs and Littles at Konawaena, Waiākea, and Kea`au Elementary Schools.

O'AHU

Breakfast With Santa was a HUGE success! Over 120 guests enjoyed ono food and fun activities at Kualoa Ranch. Not to mention, we were able to raise $2,700 for the Kualoa Big Brothers Big Sisters Hawaii Scholarship Fund, which is given to high school senior "Littles" to help with college expenses. Thank you to everyone who contributed and especially to our partners for their continued support!

KAUA'I

Welcome new match Little Brother Evan and Big Brother David, who have already enjoyed their first outing bicycling down the Kapa’a coastline! We look forward to hearing of your many adventures! Thank you to Jason and his team from Kauai Cycle for donating use of the bicycles for our matches.

MAUI
The annual Gingerbread House Celebration included sponsors, Bigs, Littles, and family members who decorated 38 homes that were displayed in the Sheraton Maui Resort & Spa’s lobby. The celebration opened with a speech from Mayor Alan Arakawa and a performance of “Mele Kalikimaka” sung by kids in our Mentor Center program. The Angel Award was presented to Chef Greg Gaspar and the Sheraton Maui Resort & Spa staff. We truly appreciate Chef Greg and his staff for hosting this wonderful event each year. Mahalo to our sponsors: Aloha Sheet Metal, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Maui Electric Co., Maui Brewing Co., Central Pacific Bank, Hale Mahaolu, Aloha International Employment, Savers, Whalers Realty Inc., David Quandt, and Mason Services of Maui.

Match Maker of the Month

HOLLY BROWN
Monthly Donor Since July 2014

"It's a lot more manageable for me to give $10, $15, or $20 a month to a cause I love, than to give one big gift at the end of the year. And I know there are a lot of kids out there that could use that money much better than I could! Being a monthly donor is the easiest way for me to give back."

Learn more about how to become a monthly donor and change a life today.

Mahalos (we couldn't do what we do without YOU!)

Huge shout out to Kaua’i Family Magazine, Mark’s Place & Contemporary Flavors Catering, Gaylord’s at Kilohana, Santa-Raelson Ohana, Excel Dance Studio, Hubbard Elves & Ohana and all of Kauai’s ohana who supported the Annual Breakfast with Santa on December 3!

Maui High School Student Government and Mrs. Glenda Joyo donated 14 Christmas trees that helped brighten both our Littles' and Bigs’ homes.They all did a beautiful job decorating them! Mahalo!

Bigs and Littles in our Holomua program manned Christmas card and ornament decorating tables at Oahu's Breakfast with Santa. In addition, two seniors from Castle High School, who are planning on going to culinary school next year, made cookies for the kids to decorate. Mahalo for making the event even more fun!

Maui United Way and Friends of the Children’s Justice Center of Maui coordinated their annual toy drive and each child in our program was able to receive one wonderful gift this holiday season!

Mahalo to Grove Farm Employee and Kaua’i Regional Board Member Reiko Matsuyama! Through her gift of volunteer service and unwavering commitment in Grove Farm’s Employee Volunteer Grants program, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Kaua’i was able to receive a generous grant. Thank you Reiko and Grove Farm Company!

Mahalo to our Holiday Angels on Maui who sponsored a total of eight families year: Maui Contractors Women’s Auxiliary, Miriam Meima and Frankie Grundler, Steven Smith, Hawaii USA Federal Credit Union- Kahului Branch, and Marriott’s Maui Ocean Club.

Thanks to Consolidated Theatres - Kaʻahumanu, eight matches were able to enjoy Disney’s Moana on December 16. Everyone had a blast!

Kauai Regional Board Member Clyde Nakaya shared the magic of the holidays by donating a present to Little Brother Zyrus. He could not contain his excitement when he opened two mini drones! It was the perfect gift since Zyrus is interested in becoming a pilot someday. Zyrus is excited to fly it with his new Big Brothers Jhoi.
Mahalo Clyde for helping spread holiday cheer!

In 2016, BBBS received grants from The Clarence T.C. Ching Foundation and McInerny Foundation to upgrade computers, software, and cloud computing equipment. Here is one of our Case Managers, Sheryl, showing how grateful we are for this much-needed support!