LIHU‘E — Former Kaua‘i High School teacher Arnold Meister was thrilled when he discovered the unique partnership between the school’s marketing class and the Salvation Army. Meister was heading for lunch with friends on Wednesday but could not help but
LIHU‘E — Former Kaua‘i High School teacher Arnold Meister was thrilled when he discovered the unique partnership between the school’s marketing class and the Salvation Army.
Meister was heading for lunch with friends on Wednesday but could not help but see the activity taking place in two of the Salvation Army’s Thrift Store display windows.
“The students just got through studying about display windows, and now, they get to put what they learned into practice,” said Charlene Navarro, the teacher for the class of 18 students. “They get to see how things translate from paper to reality, and by working with the Salvation Army, the students get involved in the community.”
Navarro, no stranger to students working with display windows, said this gives the opportunity to see the kind of work the students are capable of doing, and the students are excited about being able to have some of their achievements out so people in the community can view them.
During her tenure with the school’s Academy of Hospitality and Tourism, Navarro headed the program’s students to the Lihu‘e Airport, where they set up and maintained the display cases at the baggage claim for several years.
Those displays prompted letters to the class from visitors and educators across the nation, commenting on the creativity of the students and the opportunity it provided the students to real-world experience.
Capt. Mitham Clement of the Salvation Army was excited about the work being done by the students.
“This is exciting,” Clement said. “They submitted six, or eight designs and we settled on one.”
Navarro said the project will take the students two days to complete and on Wednesday afternoon, they were busy preparing the spaces for the display that carried the theme of the three “R”s of recycling.
“‘Reduce’ is to donate to the Salvation Army Thrift Store where items are ‘Reused,’” said Navarro. “All this gives rise to new life for old items which is ‘Recycling.’”
The students, who had about a half hour for lunch before starting, said they would go through the items at the Thrift Store to come up with the components for their window display.
“I will definitely be back Friday afternoon to see how it all comes out,” Meister said.
Other customers watching the students noted that it was about time for the Christmas lights to change and the walls needed painting.
