MEDIA RELEASE

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Hawaii Island accepted a check for $2,300 from Hawaii Arts & Crafts at its April regional board meeting.

The funds will be used to support community and school mentoring programs for children facing adversity on Hawaii Island.

According to Matthew Bantilan and Marlene Vashishta, Executive Director of Hawaii Arts & Crafts, “We believe in the core values of kindness, generosity and compassion. Through giving back to the community for a worthy cause, we can make an impact in the lives of an individual person. We are impressed by Big Brothers Big Sisters of Hawaii Island’s effectiveness and would like to see them expand and grow on the Big Island. It is truly an investment in our community and an investment in the lives of future generation.”

The mission of Hawaii Arts & Crafts is to promote Hawaii’s diverse arts, crafts, food, culture and heritage through educational pursuits, and assisting the poor and underprivileged.

The organization chose Big Brothers Big Sisters Hawaii along with two other local nonprofits to participate in the 20th Annual Hawaii Arts, Crafts & Food Festival and to fundraise at the event through the sale of Krisy Kreme donuts, Krispy Kreme coffee, T-shirts, and charitable contributions.

Volunteers from Big Brothers Big Sisters Hawaii along with current “Bigs” and “Littles” participated by handing out information about Big Brothers Big Sisters mentoring services on Hawaii Island and face-painting to entertain children.

“We opened programs on Hawaii Island exactly one year ago and are now serving both Hilo Union and Keaau Elementary School with afterschool mentoring programs as well as a handful of community based matches,” says Gordon Takaki, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Hawaii Island regional board chairman. “It is incredible to see how much our services are needed by the community, and we are so thankful to Hawaii Arts & Crafts for partnering with us for much needed fundraising in order to expand our programs to serve more youth.”

Since 1963, Big Brothers Big Sisters Hawaii has partnered with guardians, schools, corporations and others in the community to pair children (“Littles”) with carefully screened and trained volunteer mentors (“Bigs”).

A unique service of BBBS is that each one of these mentoring relationships is monitored and professionally supported by a case manager focused on creating a healthy bond between the individuals.

An affiliate of the nation’s largest donor and volunteer supported mentoring network, Big Brothers Big Sisters Hawaii mentoring programs have proven, positive impact for youth in the areas of academics, socio-emotional and behavioral outcomes, high school graduation rates, avoidance of juvenile delinquency and college or career readiness.

On July 1, 2012, Big Brothers Big Sisters Hawaii began serving children in all four counties with the unification of the formerly independent Big Brothers Big Sisters agencies of Honolulu, of Maui, of Kauai and of Hawaii Island.

Now statewide, Big Brothers Big Sisters Hawaii provides more than 600 children facing adversity with strong and enduring, professionally supported one-to-one mentoring relationships that change their lives for the better, forever.

— Find out more:
www.bbbshawaii.org