4 & 3 . . . reading, writing 'n houses

 

let the kokua countdown continue . . .

no. 4 - hawaii literacy
there is nothing like getting lost in a good book . . . especially when you're growing up on an island far from the rest of the world. and even if you are not a bookworm, well, you probably never realize how much easier reading makes your life (filling out paperwork, navigating a street map, reading your favorite blog, etc).

hawaii literacy runs classes where volunteers work with adults who need help with basic reading & writing skills. they also operate the bookmobile which brings books to kids living on the west side. me - i'm gathering up books to send home to stock the bookmobile with a complete set of my beloved childhood series, betsy-tacy (which just happens to be one of island girl bette midler's favorites too).

and if you are weeding out your bookcase before the end of the year, before you take everything to goodwill remember that most libraries welcome book donations to stock the sales run by the friends of the library.

no. 5 - habitat for humanity
well, if you are celebrating the holidays in the warmth of your home remember that the recent housing crunch has pushed far too many local families out to the beachparks (check out the "homeless on the waianae coast" series at the honolulu advertiser).

i sometimes wonder what the impact would have been had all the people who bought & sold vacation homes in their island paradise & the real estate agents who love them had made a 1% donation to the habitat chapter on the island where the property is located. food for thought.

whether you want to donate cash, building materiels to the re-store, or a little sweat equity, here's a list of habitat chapters around the islands:

• big island - hilo & kona | kauai | maui | molokai | oahu - honolulu & leeward

big island delights

 

thanks to the melting point of chocolate, fedex is the go to man for big island delights which means you still have time to stuff yourself or someone you love silly with ono snacks this holiday. the family run business whips up everything from furikake party mix to chocolate dipped biscotti (yum!) using ingredients like fresh island eggs and maui sugar.

check out the online shop for the full line of preservative-free goodies.

no. 6 - tree hawaii

the inner treehugger in me believes that you can never have too many trees so i was happy to learn about tree hawaii which is working on reforestation projects on the big island. one of their biggest endeavors is to restore the kaloko-honokohau national historical park (which sits on now barren land that was once home to a thriving native hawaiian village) with rare & endangered trees.

tree hawaii also runs camp papaloa where kids & teens can escape from their family every spring & summer to learn about the natural history of the islands while roughing it in the great outdoors.

click here to buy a tree!

{update | jan 2010: fyi, the tree hawaii website has been taken down}

9-8-7 . . . the kokua countdown continues

well, you may have noticed that i fell behind on the kokua countdown over the weekend. i will refrain from blaming holiday shopping in the real world or snuggling in to watch the charger game last night and just get on with the good stuff.

no. 9 - alu like
provides a multitude of services for native hawaiians from keiki to kupuna. i especially like that they understand the importance of being financially literate and offer classes to native hawaiians to help them take control of their financial future. alu like also runs ulukau and the hawaii digital library which gives everyone online access to hawaiian & english materials written in the 19th & 20th centuries.

no. 8 - lanakila
focuses their efforts on providing assistance to those in the community with cognitive, physical, social or age-related challenges. in addition to adult day services, lanakila also has a program to train folks with a disability who want to join the workforce, a center for the blind, and operates meals on wheels for those who are homebound.

no. 7 - christmas wish program
which is run entirely by volunteers on a mission to bring xmas & a little stability to big island keiki and their families whose only home may be a shelter or one of the many tent cities that have popped up around the islands in the last few years. they have a pay pal donation option and have also posted a gift card wish list of island stores where the organization can stock up for their gift giving events.

the scent of green papaya

if the holidays are all about gifting those you love with something they would never buy for themselves, i present to you fresh papayas shipped direct from hawaii's volcano isle fruit company. this is such a wonderful last minute gift idea since orders will arrive on the mainland in 2-3 days (of course, it's best to double check the current holiday turnaround to guarantee xmas delivery).

mainland dwellers know that papayas grown in other parts of the world are not nearly as ono as ones from the islands and when a hawaiian papaya can be found at the market prepare yourself for sticker shock. thanks to the wonders of fedex, two jacksons (no, not tito or rebe . . . think along the lines of the u.s. mint) will get a 10 lb box of either sun red or rainbow varieties or a papaya mix from the big island straight to the door of your favorite foodie.

on another note, it may be the busiest day of the year but i have to dash to the post office to drop off a few packages to hawaii (thank goodness for online postage) but check back later today for more holiday inspirations for all the procrastinators (you know who you are!).