VolunTEEN Heroes Kelly Takushi and Jillian Strong with Mayor Arakawa.Photo courtesy of County of Maui- Ryan Piros.
By Staff Reports
(Maui)– The County of Maui’s Volunteer Center, hosted a “Celebration of Service” on April 16th, 2012 in honor of National Volunteer Week. The week honors people and organizations dedicated to taking action and creating solutions for their communities. A Proclamation was read and signed by Mayor Alan M. Arakawa announcing April 15-21, 2012 National Volunteer Week.
Through the Volunteer Center’s Volunteer and VolunTEEN Hero programs twenty two volunteers were nominated and honored by the Mayor for their loyalty and drive for giving of themselves and helping others. All volunteers were honored with Certificates of Appreciation, leis and goody bags!
Two VolunTEEN Heroes were selected for the Outstanding Leadership Awards. Kelly Takushi of Maui Economic Opportunity, Inc for his underage drinking prevention efforts and Jillian Strong of Big Brothers Big Sisters for her mentoring volunteer work.
Other VolunTEEN Heroes honored include the following:
Alyssa Pascua of Best Buddies Hawaii, Kyeton Littel of Maui Food Bank, Makena and Raven Gadient of Imua Family Services, Maria Peralta of Boys & Girls Club of Maui, Nalei Sampson of Nature Conservancy & Maui Nui Marine Resources Council, Palani Keanu Santos of Olowalu Cultural Reserve, and Rachel Pascual of County of Maui Parks and Recreation Department.
Adult Volunteer Heroes honored include the following:
Blair Boucher of Lanai Animal Rescue Center, Chaplain Pua Hashimoto of Friends of the Chaplain, Dale Stewart of Pacific Whale Foundation, David Jorgenson of Maui Economic Opportunity, Inc, Diane Brittain of Imua Family Services, Linda Quinn of Lahaina Complex Tutoring Project, Margaret Enomoto of NaHoaloha – Neighbors Helping Neighbors, Perrisa Kilmer of Maui Food Bank, Suzanne Freitas of Waste Not Want Not Foundation, Terence “Terry” Tomas of Maui Nui Botanical Gardens, Tom Worthington of the American Red Cross and William Mercer Richards of Hali’imaile Community Garden.
Special Mahalo to the Mayor’s Office, Volunteer Center Advisory Committee and Tri Isle Resource and Conservation Development, Inc. for their event support.
You can learn more about the Volunteer and VolunTEEN Hero programs and find volunteer opportunities by visiting www.handsonmaui.com. Call Wendy Stebbins, Volunteer Center Coordinator, at 270-7150 for more information.