We have had some incredible programs this summer:
In honor of Mother’s Day, we wanted to support the EPIC ʻOhana Makua Allies program with gifts and personal care supplies for their participants on Oʻahu and Hawaiʻi island. We continue to be proud of our 2023 Ruby Award recipient Kimberly Nabarro and 2023 Live Your Dream Award recipient Ashley Viluan who now help other mothers and mothers-to-be reunify and stay together with their babies. As Parent Partners, they walk alongside women struggling with substance use disorder and help them understand that they can become the best version of themselves for their children. Read More >
Jennifer Meehan, Founder & President of Lift HI Foundation, attended our awards reception and noticed that our recipients voiced in common how they felt seen, not just for their accomplishments but for who they are. It is a privilege to grow up hearing “yes you can”… “yes you should”… “if you fall you have support to pick you up”. Especially when you are in survival mode, it can make all the difference to have someone cheering you on, reminding you of your goals, and believing in you.
In perfect alignment with our mission, Jennifer connects low income communities to economic opportunities that enable them to transform their own lives and those of their families. By offering free training in a compressed timeframe, expanding training beyond technical skills to include critical factors that often determine success in a new job, and proactively navigating post-training as trainees embark on their new paths, Lift HI Foundation tackles many hurdles to accessing vacant jobs that offer living wages, benefits, predictable hours, and even pathways to advancement.
Michele Velasco, 1987 Live Your Dream award recipient, kept the original letter she received almost 40 years ago that changed her life when she was a single mother pursuing nursing while working fulltime. What a journey from graduating with honors from Hilo Community College and Hawaiʻi Loa College (now Hawaiʻi Pacific University), through supervising a hospital in Saudi Arabia, to now sharing her knowledge of tai chi with us back in Hawaiʻi.
Dr. Brandy Ann Sato, President of Sacred Hearts Academy, accepted our donations for underprivileged high school girls on full-tuition scholarships who face obstacles such as homelessness, poverty, and cultural barriers. For our annual Back-to-School Drive we collected school supplies as well as feminine hygiene products, socks, deodorant, shampoo, and conditioner.
Here’s to a new (fiscal) year of improving the lives of women and girls. Thank you for being part of it!
