KAPA‘A — The General Contractors Association of Hawai‘i teamed up with Child &Family Service for the Festival of Hope for Families event throughout the state Saturday.
“We have about 20 people representing the GCA,” said Trinette Kaui of A&B Hawai‘i at the Kaua‘i event that was held at the Crossroads Christian Fellowship on the Kapa‘a bypass road.
“These are different people from several different companies, including Shioi Construction, Unlimited Construction and Kaiwa Construction. Child &Family Service has their staff out, and the Church of the Crossroads also have volunteers working, too.”
The CFS Festival of Hope for Families provides needed supplies, resources, screenings and family-friendly activities to those in need during the pandemic crisis, states a release on the event.
More than 1,000 families across the state, through the four scheduled events, were expected to participate in the drive-thru events that followed social-distancing guidelines and required that drivers remain in their vehicles while driving through the various distribution booths.
“This wil be our largest series of Festival of Hope for Families events to date,” said CFS President and CEO Karen Tan.
“We’ve held nine events on five islands since the pandemic started, and we’re honored to partner with the GCA to put on this multi-location extravaganza and greatly expand our impact.
“Not only does the festival give out meals and activities for kids, but it gives our caring staff a chance to check in with the community and connect with those in need of our services,” Tan said.
”As the stress of the holiday season, distance learning and job insecurity continue to weigh on us all, we can now support even more people across the state with the generous support of the GCA.”
The Kaua‘i CFS Festival offered Lokahi kits containing a variety of family-friends activities, games and personal hygiene items, a produce section featuring bags from the Kaua‘i Food Hub, a chef-prepared meal led by Chef Mark Oyama of Mark’s Place and Contemporary Flavors Catering, a holiday pie created by the American Culinary Federation, and a large food offering through the efforts of the Hawai‘i Foodbank Kaua‘i Branch that included ground beef, chicken, eggs, bread and assorted canned food.
“Each year, the GCA selects an organization to donate to, and this year we were inspired by Child &Family Service’s Festival of Hope, and saw this as a way to have a positive impact on the entire state and touch the lives of Hawai‘i families,” said Leslie Isemoto, 2020 president of the GCA, who helped at the Hilo, Hawai‘i Island event.
“In order to sponsor these events, our generous members stepped forward during this challenging time and donated as companies and individuals to exceed our $100,000 fundraising goal. Throughout the pandemic, our industry kept building Hawai‘i as an essential service, and we’re also committed to building strong, resilient families.”
For the Kaua‘i event, CFS partnered with the county Agency on Elderly Affairs, Life’s Choices, Ho‘ola Lahui Hawai‘i and stte Department of Health Kaua‘i Community Health Center, McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, Lili‘uokalani Trust, the state Department of Land and Natural Resources Division of Aquatic Resources, YWCA of Kaua‘i, American Culinary Federation Kaua‘i Chapter, Mark’s Place, Kaua‘i Island Utility Cooperative, Crossroads Christian Fellowship, Kaua‘i Food Hub, Chef Hui, Under My Umbrella, Hawai‘i Savin, Grove Farm, the Hawai‘i Foodbank Kaua‘i Branch, and Nourish Kaua‘i.
“A lot of good, loving hands here,” said Novelynn Hinazumi of the Kaua‘i CFS. “And, they’re working together.”
Michelle Panoke of the Hawai‘i Foodbank Kaua‘i Branch added. “There are a lot of happy faces, and we love doing this.”
