By Karen Rose

The celebratory season is upon us, and nothing brings out community generosity like the spirit of the holidays. Sharing aloha is a year-round activity in Hawai‘i; however, there’s something special about winter celebrations that compel us to become more altruistic and increase our charitable giving. Cultural traditions and the satisfaction of helping those less fortunate encourage generosity to help those who may need a little extra support.

Three local organizations work year-round to help families in need, and also offer specific programs during the holiday season. Big Island Giving Tree, Project Hawai‘i, and Salvation Army Angel Tree are three programs making a difference in the lives of others during this time of year.

When community members put their compassion into action, they experience first-hand the satisfaction of helping others. While these programs may not solve all the world’s problems, they offer an opportunity for individuals to give back and contribute to society in a meaningful way.

Big Island Giving Tree

Big Island Giving Tree (BIGT) is a nonprofit organization of Redeeming Light International. Comprised of volunteer community members island-wide, their mission is to “bring God’s light into dark places.” Over the years, BIGT’s services have provided assistance to thousands of residents in need on Hawai‘i Island.

“The Big Island Giving Tree is a year-round, nonprofit organization that helps feed the elderly and working families in need, as well as houseless families and individuals,” said Rhonda Bell, program co-coordinator. “We also help support the houseless families that go into transitional housing.”

BIGT focuses their assistance on working families who struggle to make ends meet. Most families are working full time and providing for their families as best as they can with what they have. Some families have experienced recent unexpected adversities such as a house fire, the death of a loved one, a sudden illness, or the loss of a job.

“The Big Island Giving Tree started out as a Christmas program, until we saw the need to be year-round,” said Rhonda. “We provide clothing and basic necessities through outreach efforts around the island. Every month, volunteers deliver items to the elderly and the houseless.”

During the Christmas holidays, BIGT has an “Adopt a Family Program,” that provides food, gifts for each family member, and some basic necessities to help families in need to get through the holiday season.

“Many of our families are working, yet still need assistance, so we help them as best as we can, especially during the Christmas holiday season,” said Rhonda. “Every Christmas morning we deliver over 500 meals to nine different elderly housing complexes, as well as to the homeless and the houseless. With the generosity of Sansei’s restaurant, we provide hot turkey meals for all the kūpuna [senior] housing complexes on the west side of the island. Sansei’s cooks 40 turkeys and all the fixings to feed hundreds of people.”

Giving Tree volunteers also provide gifts of nonperishable foods and basic necessities on Christmas Day to those in need.

“Many of the people we serve don’t have families, and other organizations don’t usually provide services on Christmas Day,” said Rhonda. “They usually provide meals on Thanksgiving Day instead.”

BIGT is proud of the success stories they helped make happen. Rhonda and her co-coordinator, Nancy Carr Smith, try to give each family their undivided attention.

“A really good success story is Nancy’s work with a kupuna [elder] who was homeless for several years in Waimea,” shared Rhonda. “He had become an icon in the community because he stood out as a Hawaiian kupuna who was houseless. He had fallen on hard times, and became ill. Nancy took him under her wing and helped him get the medical attention he needed. Today he’s living in an apartment, he has his driver’s license, new glasses so he can see, and has his own vehicle. It is just amazing how we can help people because our community and our island people care about one another.”

BIGT urges community members to volunteer and become involved throughout the year—not just during the holidays—especially to deliver basic necessities during their monthly outreach efforts.

“In the kind of work that we do, when a crisis happens, we need to be able to jump and go at that moment,” explained Rhonda. “When someone calls and says, ‘I have a pallet full of fresh broccoli and need someone to pick it up and distribute it before it goes bad,’ we need to be on it.”

Project Hawai‘i

Another nonprofit organization assisting others over the holidays is Project Hawai‘i. Run 100% by volunteers and supported by public donations, Project Hawai‘i helps homeless children escape their cycle of poverty. During Christmas time, the group provides more than 500 homeless and poverty-stricken children with the wonders of the holidays.

“Many people do not understand the value of a simple Christmas gift to a child who has nothing,” said co-founder, Magin Patrick. “Along my journey, I’ve made once-in-a-lifetime connections with some of the children. I often wonder about where they are today and if they are doing well. One day, I received a message from a little girl I met once on Christmas Eve, and was blessed to be able to bring her a Barbie doll from Santa. She said, ‘I am sure you will not remember me, but a long time ago you gave me my first Christmas gift and my first and only Barbie doll. I want to thank you and let you know I have that Barbie today. She sits on my desk in my college dorm reminding me that I am loved, I am worth it.’”

Salvation Army

For the past decade, the Salvation Army has provided holiday programs to Hawai‘i Island’s keiki and kūpuna in need. Their Angel Tree program is a popular holiday event where community members can donate a Christmas present to a child or senior who may be less advantaged. The Salvation Army also offers a free community meal for the Thanksgiving holiday.

“During the holiday season is when the Salvation Army needs extra love, because we are very active in helping the community during the holiday season,” said Raghel Santiago, corps officer. “For Thanksgiving, we host a holiday meal at Jackie Rey’s Restaurant in Kailua-Kona. It’s open to the whole community, not just to homeless residents. It’s for anyone who wants to go. We often get a lot of tourists who attend because they don’t have family here, but want to have a Thanksgiving meal and sit down with other people. We also have live music. It is really a beautiful thing.”

For seniors or those with special needs who are unable to leave their homes, the Salvation Army will personally deliver their Thanksgiving meals to them. Last year, the organization served 1,200 to 1,400 people. Community members volunteer to serve the meals at Jackie Rey’s, and also to make at-home meal deliveries.

At Christmas time, the Salvation Army runs the Angel Tree program where individuals can choose a child or senior to bestow a gift upon, thus making a small, but positive difference in their lives.

“Our Angel Tree program helps our keiki, as well as our seniors and those with special needs,” explained Raghel. “Those who wish to participate can come in and sign up with us. They are asked to make a list of what they wish to receive for Christmas. After we screen them, we create a tag that has their name, age, and what gift they would like. The tags are then distributed to businesses within the community and hung on Christmas trees for those who wish to choose a person and participate by giving to our program.”

When the Salvation Army added seniors to their Angel Tree program, the community embraced it. Raghel explained that the organization chose to include seniors in the program because some local kūpuna no longer have family nearby, and therefore have no one to celebrate Christmas with them.

“Last year there was a little boy in our Angel Tree program and all he wanted was his own toothbrush, because he had siblings with whom he was sharing one toothbrush,” shared Raghel. “He also loved Spiderman, so the person who had chosen his request left him a Superman toothbrush with a cup and a toothbrush holder. He was also gifted a Spiderman toy and the movie. He could not stop crying, he was so happy. I’m telling you, when I see something like that, I’m so thankful we have the Salvation Army to bless someone in that way.”

The value of participating in one of these community programs is the opportunity to give back in a real and tangible way. What better way to share the holiday spirit than bringing joy to someone who is struggling and in need of some extra care and support? ❖

For more information:

Bigislandgivingtree.org

Helpthehomelesskeiki.org

Salavationarmy.org