Thursday, July 26, 2012

Random Acts of Kindness ~ Hawaii

One of the first things I did upon moving to Hawaii was start up my RAOK meetup group.  I am happy to say that I now have nearly a 100 volunteers and the group is growing daily. :)  Visit the group page if you'd like to see more photos, see upcoming events and even join up - its free. :)  www.meetup.com/kindness

I recently posted at Make-A-Wish event where we (volunteers) were positioned throughout the Ewa Beach Golf Course to help run the Golf Tournament (fundraiser for MAW) and also spread the word on Make a Wish.  It was a fun day - I learned a lot about golf and would like to give it a shot one of these days. :)

The next morning, I took a group of 13 to the Children's Alliance headquarters where we helped stuff, label, organize and pack over 150 backpacks for kids. This was quite the challenge as space was limited but we all had fun. :)

We had so much fun, in fact, that the ED of the non-profit offered me a position with the non-profit  - I'm so elated, I've been wanting to work at a non-profit - its one of the reasons why I moved to Hawaii.  I'm glad its all finally coming together. :)

If you think I have a busy schedule - keeping up with my part-time day job at the lawfirm, then part-time job at PHOCUSED and being a Make-A-Wish wish granter, organizing my meetup group, and oh, yeah, working for Flipbooks at weddings/graduations, well, guess what, I still have time. Yes, a few weeks back I started training to become a CASA/GAL.  What's that you ask?
"Formerly known as the Volunteer Guardian Ad Litem Program, the CASA  Program is comprised of trained volunteers who are appointed by the court to represent the best interests of a child in a child abuse or neglect case in and out of court. CASA volunteers must be at least 20 years old and able to spend between 4 and 25 hours a month - serve as fact-finders, advocates, and monitors for children in need."
I'm so excited about this opportunity. I've  been driving out to the Kapolei courthouse every Saturday as there's a 40-hour mandatory training before one can  be certified. I have 2 Saturdays to go. :)

In addition, I want to/will be organize(ing) the Be The Change day of service in October in association with SAALT.  The group organizes this nationwide day of service in honor of Gandhi's famous quote: "Be the change you wish to see in the world."

:)