Stories

Volunteer at the Honolulu Marathon

Hello East Honolulu Rotarians,

Won't you join fellow Rotarians from the RC Ala Moana volunteering at a water station at the Honolulu Marathon. It is Aid Stataion 22 - located near the Kahala Aloha Gas Station on the road that borders the golf course.

Shifts available are from 6:00am to 2:30 PM.

Please contact Scott Wishart with the Ala Moana Rotary Club to sign up. He can be reached at 808-292-0535 or scott.wishart@revolusun.com.

Street Parking is available.

It sounds like a good time helping our community and getting to know Rotarians from other clubs!

Welcome New Rotarian Lauren!

The club welcomed new Rotarian Lauren Holdcroft. She was sponsored by Kelli Chun and Miki May. Lauren already has years of experience as the child of Rotarians and also as a Rotary Exchange student 2008 to Argentina. Welcome to the club Lauren!

Thanksgiving Food Drive - UPDATE!

THANK YOU TO ALL WHO DONATED! We were able to drop off over 200 lbs of Thanksgiving food at Aloha Harvest!

Our club is sponsoring a small food drive for Aloha Harvest. No one in our community should go without. Please join us in donating the following food items for Thanksgiving.

Canned pumpkin
Canned green beans
Boxed instant mashed potatoes (add water)

Sweet potatoes (canned or fresh)
Canned cranberry sauce
Bags of flour, sugar or rice
Gravy mix

Powdered milk
Instant tea/lemonade mix

You can bring it to our meetings on 11/14 or 11/21 or call 808-699-6400 and we will pick it up the donations.

A Call to Action for the Homeless at Waimanalo

Halloween Party = Spooky Fun!

The Rotary Club of East Honolulu met for a fun and festive Halloween social - and raised money for the Rotary Foundation. Hosted by President Cheryl, we ate, drank, and chatted under the palms. Rotarian Rebecca Schonberg Hamar joined us from the Rotary Club of Kona. Happy Halloween!

Welcome New Members!

We are delighted to welcome three new members to our club. Anna Kamsing is a Registered Dietician. Maria Balaji, formerly of the Honolulu Pau Hana Club is a Medical Social Worker and Mikki Scanlong is a Non Profit Director. Welcome to the Rotary Club of East Honolulu!

Rotary Club of East Honolulu’s Fun Weekend Helping at Aina Haina Library Book Sale!

A GREAT BIG THANK YOU to our Rotarian and Friends of Rotary Volunteers!

The Rotary Club of East Honolulu had a blast volunteering at the Annual Aina Haina Library Book Sale! We helped with selling in the media area and cleaning up, making lots of new friends and sharing plenty of smiles along the way!

Our club members spent the weekend arranging CDs DVDs LPs and other media, and helping out at the sales table. We all enjoyed chatting with visitors and helping them find great movies! After the sale, we rolled up our sleeves and cleaned up the place, leaving it nice and tidy.

This event helped raise money for the library and brought people together to celebrate reading! Our club was thrilled to lend a hand and be a part of strengthening our community bonds.

Rotary: Making friends and helping in the community!

Volunteer List! Rotary Members: Dailyn Yanagida, John Steelquist, Doris Hannaford, Laura Steelquist, Cheryl Holdcroft, Mae Mendelson. Friends of Rotary: Lauren Holdcroft, Mikki Scanlon, Naiya Balaji and Trudie, Robbie, Ruddy and Trudy Keissling. Kalani High School Boy's Baseballl and Girl's Softball teams and parents: Wyatt Ishii, Dyson Murakami, Pacey Hatanaka, Breadly Asato, Tracy Hatanaka, Naomi Stremick, Samantha Morinaga, Cassidy Wong, Tien Saiki, Shya Morinaga, Emma Fujino, Kyla Castro, Layna Faria Kira Matsumoto and Iris Stremick. Team work makes the dream work!

🌟 Rotary Club of East Honolulu October Lunch Social! 🌟

We're excited to invite you to a casual and enjoyable lunch social on October 16th at noon! It's a fantastic opportunity to relax, connect, and have a great time with fellow Rotarians who want to meet on Mondays at lunch. Pat Yee is our host for the event.

Here are the event details:

📅 Date: Monday October 16th
⏰ Time: 12:00 PM
📍 Location: Assagio's Kahala

No formalities, no agenda—just good company, delicious food, and engaging conversations. Let's come together, share stories, and strengthen our Rotary bonds in a laid-back setting.

To help us plan accordingly, RSVP to Pat at utti8411@gmail.com or call 808-941-3330

District Governor Mark Merriam's Club Visit

The Rotary Club of East Honolulu had a lively meeting with a special guest: Rotary District 5000 Governor Mark Merriam, and surprise drop in District Governor Elect Ted Faigle and his partner Rick. With an engaging mix of 15 members and guests (including 2 prospective new members,) the atmosphere was both upbeat and collaborative. The food provided by member Kelli Chun and President Cheryl was a traditional fried chicken meal and Korean chicken and sides - and everyone left with a bento!

Mark dove into Rotary's D 5000's goals with enthusiasm, sprinkling in some light-hearted anecdotes. Yet, when he touched upon the serious topic of supporting Maui post-fire, everyone felt the gravity, and also pride at how much Rotarians around the world had contributed to this cause. The session ended on a high, with the group feeling motivated and sharing many laughs. It was clear that even amidst serious discussions, Rotary knows how to blend purpose, good food and a dash of fun.

Aina Haina Library Book Sale Info and Volunteer Sign Up

It’s September, and that means it’s time to mark your calendars for the Friends of the Aina Haina Public Library’s Annual Sale event.

This year the big blow-out sale is happening on Friday and Saturday, September 22 and 23, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The library is overstocked with an amazing selection of books—bestsellers and classics, mysteries, romance, cookbooks, self-help, biographies, children’s favorites and more—plus a huge variety of DVDs and CDs to buy.

Volunteers are needed! Please click this link to sign up. https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0C4AAAAD23A5FBC61-aina Refreshments are provided for all volunteers.

All proceeds from our annual sale benefit the Aina Haina Public Library and its programs. We look forward to seeing you there, and mahalo for your support!

Lilian and Laura

September is Basic Education and Literacy Month

Basic education and literacy is one of Rotary’s seven areas of focus. We know that basic education and literacy are essential for reducing poverty, improving health, encouraging community and economic development, and promoting peace.

Consider these facts: If all women completed primary education, there would be 66% fewer maternal deaths. Our Rotary goal is to strengthen the capacity of communities to support basic education and literacy, reduce gender disparity in education, and increase adult literacy.

We support education for all children and literacy for children and adults.

The Honolulu Walk for Suicide Prevention September 9th

The Rotary club of East Honolulu is joining with other Rotary Clubs as part of our Strong Mental Health platform.

Will you come walk with us or donate? Click the link below to join our team.

https://supporting.afsp.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=donordrive.team&teamID=326594

Event Details

Date: 09/09/2023

Location: Skygate @ Frank Fasi Civic Center Park, Honolulu, HI

Registration Starts: 8:00 am

Program Begins: 9:00 am

Hawaiian Airlines has a Discount for Rotarians!

District 5000 Rotarians,

Book your Hawaiian Airline flights through this link! We have partnered with Hawaiian Airlines to provide you with easy access to Hawaiian Airlines' reservation site. This is a win-win: you get the lowest available HawaiianAirlines.com webfare and the District earns 1 Hawaiian Mile for every $1 spent via the Affiliate Website. Here are the benefits of doing your reservation with our special link for District 5000 Rotarians:

You get the lowest available HawaiianAirlines.com web fare.
You use the convenient online access with a variety of fare and itinerary options.
It's a completely electronic process.
Rotary District 5000 will earn 1 HawaiianMile for every $1 spent via this special link.
You will earn flight credit in your individual HawaiianMiles account too.
And for a limited time, HAL is offering District 5000 Rotarians a 5% discount on transpacific web fares! 5% Off applies to flights between SEA, PDX, SMF, OAK, SFO, SJC, LAX, SAN, PHX, LAS, JFK and Hawaii.

Rotary Hawaiian Air Discount

Click here to access the HawaiianAir Preferred Affiliate Program Reservation site.

Thank you for supporting the District by using this program to book your HawaiianAirlines Flights!!

September is Give Aloha Month at Foodland!

Please support the Hawaii Rotary Youth Foundation (HRYF) by making donations to Foodland's Give Aloha Campaign!

Yes, it’s time to support HRYF, which provides scholarships to our best and brightest Hawaii high school seniors and assists in furthering their university education.

The BEST and EASIEST way to donate to HRYF is at Foodland during their “Give Aloha” Campaign, September 1 – 30, 2023. A percentage of your donation will be matched by Foodland and Western Union and given to HRYF.

To donate, go to any Foodland, Sack N’ Save or Foodland Farms with your Maika`I Card (if you don’t have one, you can sign up at the store), designate the amount you want to donate to Hawaii Rotary Youth Foundation or use the organization code – 77199. Request a duplicate receipt. Give your copy to your Club’s HRYF Rep to mail to HRYF for credit to you and your Club. Please write your name and Club name on the receipt. You can also scan the receipt and email it to: office@hawaiirotaryyouthfoundation.org. Your donations will count toward the Per Capita Giving for your Club.

Thank you for taking this step during your daily life to strengthen the Foundation for our youth!

Palolo Valley Elementary School Supply Drive - Thank You!

What a phenomenal day it was at Kahala Mall on Saturday, August 12th!

We're thrilled to announce that with the help of over 20 dedicated volunteers from Palolo Valley Elementaryn staff and administration and Rotary members, we successfully raised almost $700 cash for school supplies for our brilliant students. Many people also dropped off physical supplies for the school

Your contributions will undoubtedly pave the way the academic success of the Palolo kids and go a long way to supporting the teachers.

The spirit of community and generosity was palpable, and we even had an original Palolo Valley and Jarret Middle school student stop by, now age 80+! We are immensely grateful to everyone who participated, especeally during this time when our focus is turned to our neighbors on Maui.

Your kindness and support not only provide essential tools for education but also instill hope, confidence, and a sense of belonging among our students. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for making a significant difference in their lives.
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Volunteers Needed at State Capital Tomorrow

Friends of Aina Haina Library Book Sale is Coming! Save the Date.

The Aina Haina Friends of the Library Book Sale is coming soon. This is one one our fun yearly volunteer service projects. Watch the bulletin for more information and sign up sheets as we get closer to the event.

August is Membership & New Club Development Month

It’s time. Time to celebrate your Rotary club, your members, and the good you do in your community and around the world......

A Fun Meeting July 25th at Treehouse Coworking Kahala with Speaker Mikki Scanlon

Thank you Mikki Scanlon for an interesting presentation at our meeting, Treehouse Coworking for providing a convenient quiet place for our meeting and the Red Elephant Kaimuki for the delicious Thai food. It was great to see Mikki Meraki Brand gorgeous artwork and learn more about the creative brain and ways to help our more vulnerable communities with new opportunities!

East Honolulu Rotary Club Pitches In With Aloha Harvest: A Day of Giving Back

In this week's spotlight, we're delighted to share the uplifting story of our dedicated members who recently joined hands with Aloha Harvest for a special Volunteer Day.

In an inspiring display of community spirit, several members of our East Honolulu Rotary Club spent the day working side by side with the hardworking Aloha Harvest team. Their mission? To help reduce food waste and feed our hungry neighbors across the island.

Our members rolled up their sleeves to help sort and package surplus food collected from local businesses. Not only did this enriching experience underscore the power of community involvement, but it also showcased how every small act of kindness can make a big difference in fighting food insecurity.

Thank you East Honolulu Rotarians, for your dedication to our community. Together, we can create a wave of positive change that ripples across East Honolulu and beyond.

Rotary Ohana, we're making a difference!

Stay connected, stay involved, and as always, keep serving with aloha.

Our First meeting of the New Rotary Year!

Thank you to our speakers from the Pacific and Asian Affairs Council. It was great to learn about your programs and outreach for Hawaii's youth!

The team at Scratch Kitchen Hawaii Kai provided us with a delicious meal, and the adjustment to two evening meetings a month has begun!

Looking forward to seeing you at our next regular meeting June 25th at 5:30 PM at the Treehouse Coworking Space in Kahala. The theme of the meal will Thai and our

speaker will be Mikki Scanlon from Mikki Meraki Brand 501c3.

A Night to Remember - RCEH 2023-2024 Installation Dinner!

🌟 Rotary Club of East Honolulu July Lunch Social! 🌟

We're excited to invite you to a casual and enjoyable lunch social at Chilis in Kahala. It's a fantastic opportunity to relax, connect, and have a great time with fellow Rotarians. Pat Yee will be our host for the event.

Here are the event details:

📅 Date: Monday July 3rd
⏰ Time: 12:00 PM
📍 Location: Chili's Kahala

No formalities, no agenda—just good company, delicious food, and engaging conversations. Let's come together, share stories, and strengthen our Rotary bonds in a laid-back setting.

To help us plan accordingly, RSVP to Pat at utti8411@gmail.com.

"East Honolulu Rotary Club Rings in New Leadership with Fun-Filled Installation Dinner in Kahala"

The Change of Command of our leaders marked a new beginning for our club, filled with renewed energy, commitment, and an unwavering dedication to service, and we had a great time partying togehter!

Rotary Club of East Honolulu Shines at Rotary District Conference 2023

We've got some exciting news to share about our recent adventure at the Rotary District 5000 Conference 2023. From May 18th to May 21st, our club joined forces with fellow Rotarians at the stunning Grand Naniloa Hotel in beautiful Hilo, Hawaii. Five members from our club attended. It was a time to reflect on our achievements, find inspiration, and have a blast! The outgoing presidents, including our own Kecia King Sharpe, were all introduced and thanked for their service.

Rotarians on Earth Day

On Saturday, April 22nd, we celebrated Rotarians at Work Day and Earth Day with the Rotary Club of West Honolulu and the Farrington High School Interact Club! East Honolulu Rotarians Alissa Pranica, Kecia King, Kelli Chun, Laura Steelquist and Roxy Kiessling put their gloves on and got muddy! They gardened, planted a variety of trees (koa, ʻulu, mahoe, fruit trees), flowers and taro, and installed new compost boxes.

It was wonderful to see the next generation of Rotarians from the Interact Club organize, coordinate and execute this project for their community.

Sister Club Kyoto South's Visit with RCEH

"A Night of Celebration: Sister Club Kyoto South's Visit to East Honolulu Rotary Club"

On the 17th of April, the Rotary Club of East Honolulu welcomed our sister club, the Rotary Club of Kyoto South, for a gala evening at the Eating House 1849. This visit marked another memorable chapter in our longstanding relationship and strengthened the bonds between our two clubs.

HUGS Memorial Garden Work Day

For our last project of the Rotary year, we teamed up with the Rotary Club of Diamond Head Kaimuki and Men's Leadership of Hawaii to help HUGS build a water reservoir lean-to at Sunset Ranch near their Koa Tree Memorial Garden. The Memorial Garden is a special place for families to honor their children who have passed away.

Men's Leadership of Hawaii built the lean-to with a gutter that feeds into a water storage tank, which will collect water when it rains. We then climbed up ladders and painted the structure to help protect it from the elements. Moving forward, it will be much easier to water the koa trees in the garden!

Jamie Apuna did an amazing job coordinating this project and the delicious lunch that followed our work day.

Kahauiki Village Landscaping

We joined the Rotary Clubs of Hickam Pearl Harbor and Honolulu Sunrise for a multi-club project at Kahauiki on Saturday, May 14th. Together we planted trees and shrubs in the area around the new Teen Center at Kahauiki. Joshua McDonough did most of the hard work and digging!

This completed the District 5000’s support of the Kahauiki Village of four years for a place where families will bond with their community and embrace the values of “generosity, trust, dignity, and honor”.

Sake Sushi 2022

We are happy to announce our annual Sake Sushi FUN-Raiser that took place on Friday, April 29th was a huge success! Everyone enjoyed a night full of sake sampling, delicious food, entertainment and great company. All the proceeds raised will benefit projects in our local community and scholarships sponsored by the Rotary Club of East Honolulu. Thank you to everyone who came out to support!

Special shout out to Jamie Apuna (ticket sales chair), Cheryl Holdcroft (silent auction chair and decorations), Lauren Okinishi (sake sampling coordinator), Ashli Sasano (treasurer and 50/50 ticket sales), Laura Steelquist (all around busy bee), John Strandberg and Bob Yee (emcees of the night).

Rotarians at Work Day

On Saturday, April 23rd, our club participated in "Rotarians at Work Day". Every year, Rotarians all across the world engage in hands-on service projects that help their local communities. Our project was a part of the statewide cleanup for District 5000's Ridge to Reef Rotary Days of Service. We gathered at Kaimuki District Park to clean up trash in the area and maintain a healthy neighborhood wellness.

Mahalo to our community service director, John Strandberg, who coordinated this project and brought all the cleaning supplies.

Genki Ball Project

We teamed up with the Genki Ala Wai Project and other Rotary clubs in District 5000 for a two-part project! On day one of the project, we got our hands dirty making Genki Balls. They were made of a mixture of clay soil, rice bran, molasses, water and EM•1 solution (Effective Microorganisms). After dehydrating the Genki balls for almost a month, we then threw them into the Ala Wai Canal to work their magic and remove sludge.

Palolo Elementary School Christmas Project

On Thursday, December 16th, we gathered for our last project of the year to decorate and fill bags with toys and treats for the students of Palolo Elementary School. Our district grant funds were used to make sure every student received a fun surprise this holiday season.

The following day we had the special opportunity to hand-deliver the Christmas bags to the students. They were overjoyed and filled with holiday cheer when receiving their gifts.

Community Food Distribution

On Saturday, November 20th, we had a successful food distribution project in partnership with the Rotary Club of Ala Moana and Aloha Harvest. Our clubs packaged and delivered over 200 bags to the families and staff of Lunalilo Elementary School.

Mahalo to Our Healthcare Heroes

Our club, along with fellow Rotary clubs throughout the District, participated in a project to show appreciation to our healthcare heroes. We partnered with the Rotary Club of Ala Moana and the Eco Rotary Club of Kaka'ako to write thank you notes and stuff treat bags with snacks. After two days of preparation and packaging, our clubs delivered the thank you bags to Kuakini Hospital and Urgent Care Kaka'ako. Hospital administrators then distributed the treats to their 850+ healthcare workers and staff.

Tree Care and Planting with HUGS

On Saturday, October 16th RCEH teamed up with Men's Leadership Hawaii and Ukulele Hale to help prepare the Koa Tree Memorial Garden for HUGS. The Memorial Garden is a special place for families to honor their children who have passed away. We planted, fertilized and watered koa trees to maintain the garden as a peaceful haven for the families.

Beach Cleanup with Seed.World

It was a beautiful day at Waimanalo Beach Park until we looked more closely at the sand and saw countless tiny pieces of plastic. Using screens and a special Buoyancy Separation Device from our partner for this project, Seed.World, we sifted and sifted until we separated out a plethora of plastic in every shape, size and color you could imagine.

We saw firsthand the impact micro-plastic pollution has on our island and why we need to take action. Helping with this cleanup project educated us on how much harm plastics are causing all of our beaches and oceans, and we now hope to raise awareness about this problem in other concerned individuals.

Back to School Supply Drive

Thanks to the many generous donations from our members, we presented Palolo Elementary School with boxes and bags of school supplies and sanitizing items. The teachers and students were overjoyed with the support!

Palolo Elementary School Cleanup

With the Palolo Elementary School keiki coming back to campus this month, we worked hard to beautify their playground and basketball area. We spent the day weed whacking, weed pulling, tree cutting, sweeping and more, so now they have much more room to play and run around!

Christmas Shoebox Wrapping

On Saturday, November 9th, RCEH kicked off the holiday season with our annual Christmas Shoebox Project Part I: Shoebox Wrapping.

Members, family and friends gathered at our club house, the home of member Janice Kim, and wrapped about 170 empty shoeboxes, remaining boxes were wrapped on Saturday, November 16. While we worked, John Strandberg was busy in the kitchen roasting us a turkey. And like any potluck in Hawaii, we had more than an abundance of food....and fun!

Stay tuned for Part II: Shoebox Stuffing, where we stuff each shoebox with gifts for the nearly 300 students at Palolo Elementary.

National Clean Up Day

Our second annual "National Clean Up Day" swept through the streets of East Honolulu. Rotarians and non-Rotarians alike, got together to pick up litter off the streets of Kaimuki. Special thanks to John Strandberg and Chauntel Nakata for chairing this project. Congrats Chauntel on chairing your first community service project!