Helping kids with recovery from lava
PAHOA — The Big Island Substance Abuse Council (BISAC) hosted the Puna Keiki Fun Day at the Pahoa District Park. The event celebrated keiki impacted by the lava flow.
“I have been visiting the shelters and saw firsthand how these events have impacted our people. At times, I felt helpless to see our keiki suffering. I decided to host this event to celebrate our community and give them a moment to forget about what is happening and show the strength of our community,” said Dr. Hannah Preston-Pita, BISAC CEO.
The event was planned over a two-day period. BISAC was touched by the outpouring of support and donations to help make the event possible.
“The support was awesome and only demonstrated that we live in an amazing place. We had people from Canada and Manila who volunteered at our event,” Hannah said.
More than 200 therapy kits — consisting of a backpack, towels, blankets, stuffed animals, toiletries, notebooks, and crayons — were given to the keiki from the donations which were received. There were also bouncers, keiki games, shaved ice, cotton candy, face painting, entertainment and food, all of which were donated by our community.
“I would like to mahalo everyone who made this event possible,” Hannah said.
For more information about BISAC and all of its programs call 969-9994 or visit www.bisac.org.
Become a Star of Service with Hospice of Kona
Kailua-Kona — West Hawaii residents who are interested in supporting their neighbors and giving back to the community may be interested in becoming a Hospice of Kona (HOK) “Stars of Service” volunteer. Training is two full days on May 23 and May 24, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. each day, at the HOK office (75-5925 Walua Road, Suite 102). Lunch will be provided.
To register, please contact Deann Canuteson, Director of Volunteer Services, 808-443-2936 or dcanuteson@hospiceofkona.org.
Attending both meetings is mandatory to become a Certified Hospice Volunteer.
“Our volunteers are the stars of our organization. They dedicate their time, services and caring to families and friends of patients with life-limiting illness,” said Canuteson. “These men and women make such a huge difference to Hospice of Kona and to the community.”
For more information contact info@hospiceofkona.org or 324-7700.
Hawaii students beat the stock market
Hawaii students are learning first-hand about the value of long term investing thanks to the SIFMA Foundation’s Stock Market Game, an online academic and life-skills educational program used by hundreds of Hawaii teachers to boost students’ math, economics, and personal finance knowledge, while also improving their test scores.
Winning Stock Market Game students will be recognized for their financial prowess and receive awards for their top performing portfolios. Their teachers will also receive recognition from the SIFMA Foundation.
Teams of one to four students begin the simulation with $100,000 imaginary cash they can use to buy stocks, bonds, mutual funds and exchange-traded funds on the NYSE and NASDAQ. Students place orders in real time, pay a broker’s fee on each transaction, and keep track of their portfolio and cash. They also compete with peers in their classroom and with teams of other students in schools across the state to increase their portfolio value.
“We are proud and thrilled for all of our student teams who reached the top spots in the Hawaii SMG competition,” said Melanie Mortimer, president of the SIFMA Foundation.
The SIFMA Foundation is pleased to announce the student winners of the fall, spring, and year-long 2017-18 Stock Market Game competitions in Hawaii. The two top teams with the highest portfolio value win awards in elementary, middle and high school categories.
FALL SMG SESSION
Elementary First Place: Palolo Elementary School
Second Place: Palolo Elementary School
Middle School First Place: Innovations – PCS
Second Place: Lokelani Intermediate School
YEAR LONG 2018 SMG SESSION
Middle School First Place: Robert Louis Stevenson Middle School
Second Place: Robert Louis Stevenson Middle School
High School First Place: Hanalani
Second Place: Hanalani
SPRING 2018 SMG SESSION
Elementary First Place: Homeschool
Second Place: Island Pacific Academy
Middle School First Place: Innovations – PCS
Second Place: Governor Sanford B Dole Middle School
High School First Place: Kealakehe High School
Second Place: Kealakehe High School
For more information on the work of the SIFMA Foundation, visit www.sifma.org/foundation.