LIHUE — Jennifer Estacio of Hale Opio was concerned about people still being present in the target site when donations arrived.
“The county just announced plans to clean the place,” Estacio said. “Whenever the county comes in to clean, the homeless scatter and we have to try and find them.”
Estacio was assisting the final leg of the Waimea High School JROTC Service Learning Project that involved creating, packing and distributing personal care packages with the help of Hale Opio.
“Each year, the Waimea High School Army JROTC Menehune Battalion takes on a Service Learning Project that teaches cadets while also supporting the local community,” said C/CPT Fredy Padamada Jr. of the Menehune Battalion. “This year’s project supports the community in a very different, significant way. For the 2025 Service Learning Project, the Menehune Battalion launched ‘Operation Fresh and Full of Hearts,’ focused on giving back to Kauai’s homeless youth and disadvantaged community members.”
Starting on March 10, what started as a goal to create 100 care packages of essentials doubled in scope to the assembly of more than 200 care packages, thanks to the dedication of the cadets and support from the school and the community, Padamada said.
The cadet said donations were collected to fill the packages with essential hygiene items and comfort supplies, including travel-sized deodorants, lip balm, hand sanitizer, toothbrushes and toothpaste, floss, mini first-aid kits, manicure sets, and much more.
“To make the donation process more engaging, the SLP team turned the endeavor into a friendly competition between companies with the company that donated the most items earning a company team-building party,” Padamada said.
The Menehune Battalion formed a partnership with Hale Opio who services youth and families on Kauai, to make the distributions on Thursday.
The Menehune Battalion delivered the completed packages and several of the cadets accompanied Estacio in the Hale Opio service vehicle to the targeted drop site.
“Mahalo to everyone who donated and participated in this year’s Service Learning Project, and congratulations to Delta Company for having the most donations,” Padamada said.
