Sign Up: 2018 HONOLULU Family Volunteer Day presented by HMSA
Work in a lo‘i, tend to and harvest Hawaiian plants or clean up and get a behind-the-scenes tour of a favorite youth theater on Saturday, Jan. 6, 2018.
Photos: Karen DB Photography
Holiday Cover Kid Micah at the Ulupō Heiau and Lo‘i in Kailua, one of the new locations for our 2018 Volunteer Day.
We captured our Holiday 2017 Cover Kid, Micah, at the lo‘i just behind Ulupō Heiau—a restoration project right behind Micah’s neighborhood YMCA. The Y, the Hawaiian Civic Club, ‘Ahahui Mālama i ka Lōkahi and the Department of Land and Natural Resources, under the guidance of Kaleo Wong from Hika‘alani, are restoring this historic place as a center for culturally grounded educational activities.
The Y often has workdays for families at the lo‘i, and we are excited to include it as one of our opportunities for our third HONOLULU Family Volunteer Day, sponsored by HMSA.
We started our annual event in 2016 as a way for families to explore fun ways to give back. On the first Saturday of January, we partner with nonprofits on O‘ahu to create volunteer opportunities for parents and their kids to do together. All the work is hands-on, occurs in family friendly environments, starts no earlier than 8 a.m. and lasts no more than a few hours. And, if your child gets a little antsy or loud, don’t worry. You’re surrounded by other parents who understand. This year, we will have T-shirts and snacks for all volunteers, as a “thank you” from us for helping out our communities.
This year, we expanded our worksites into more communities so families can work closer to their own neighborhoods. Sign up to pull kalo and help maintain the Ulupō Heiau and Lo‘i in Kailua, clean a theater (and get a behind-the-scenes tour) with the Honolulu Theatre for Youth, work in an organic farm in Hawai‘i Kai or weed and work at the Discovery Garden at the Honolulu Zoo.
