There are going to be some disappointed keiki headed for the island’s Summer Fun program in North and South Kona, North and South Kohala and Hamakua unless more workers are found to oversee them.
Without the proper staffing, the programs will not be able to take the full number of keiki registered per site, or the sites will have to be consolidated, leaving some communities without a program, county Recreation Administrator Mason Souza said Thursday.
“We need the workers,” Souza said. “It’s a great enrichment program. They get to do arts and crafts, go on excursions like to the movies, go to places these kids would never get to go.”
The paid positions are open to applicants 18 years old or older who are willing to work with children in kindergarten through sixth grade. For more information, contact the Recreation Division Office in Hilo, 961-8740. The program runs from June 3 to July 17.
The program is able to handle 180 children if there are nine workers, Souza said. Worker shortages last year reduced the number to 140, with just five workers. Parks and Recreation staff occasionally fill in, but it’s not always possible to do so, he said.
“It’s a fun program,” Souza said. “They do dances, games, learn skills like sewing, do the things we used to do growing up.”