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Holy Family Catholic Academy & ELC Collect Over 1,300 Canned Goods for Food Drive

December 11, 2020

1,217 Pounds of Food Donated to the Hawaii Foodbank to Support Those in Need

From Suzanne Carlos, Development Coordinator
Holy Family Catholic Academy and Early Learning Center

To celebrate their 25th Anniversary, Holy Family Early Learning Center (ELC) conducted a canned food drive over the month of November. Mrs. Casey Villarmia and her Noah's Ark preschool students invited the entire student body and faculty & staff schoolwide to donate canned goods for the Hawaii Foodbank. As Hawaii's leading hunger-relief organization, the Hawaii Foodbank provides emergency food to members of our community impacted by the pandemic, as well as those already facing hunger every day. The ELC's goal was to collect 25 canned goods per homeroom from their preschool through grade 8 classes, with a separate 100-can challenge for faculty & staff. Father Rheo Ofalsa, HFCA & ELC's Pastor, showed his support by alone contributing 52 cans of food! The homeroom that collected the most canned goods was awarded an extra 20 minutes of recess time. Congratulations to Ms. LaiYin Ng and the students in her 4th grade homeroom class on winning the contest by collecting 172 canned foods.  In total, the food drive collected over 1,300 cans which equated to 1,217 pounds of food for the Hawaii Foodbank.

To commemorate their 25th Anniversary, Holy Family Early Learning Center is organizing monthly service projects to benefit the greater community. To broaden their scope and impact, students and their families from both the ELC (preschool) and Holy Family Catholic Academy (kindergarten-grade 8) are invited to participate. In August, the ELC conducted a Pet Shelter Towel Donation Drive where they donated 116 towels to the Hawaiian Humane Society. In September, the ELC conducted a 'Quarter Drive' and raised $1,100 for HUGS Hawaii. In October, students created over 430 handmade 'Cards of Gratitude' for Hawaii's healthcare workers to express their appreciation for the medical personnel that have worked tirelessly throughout the COVID pandemic.

For the month of December, ELC Director, Mr. Allen Akiona, Jr,. is facilitating a donation drive to benefit the Aloha Diaper Bank. The school will be collecting monetary donations, as well as donations of baby diapers, baby wipes and basic necessities, to aid families facing hardships with young children, the low-income, and the homeless. Aloha Diaper Bank's vision is to eliminate diaper need in our island community so that every child has the opportunity to be clean, dry and healthy. Faculty and staff have been challenged to each donate a package of diapers for this important initiative.

To commemorate its 25th Anniversary, Holy Family Early Learning Center is welcoming monetary donations from interested donors to support their special projects and enrichment activities including playground improvements, Hawaiiana curriculum and their school garden. Those interested in donating may contact ELC Director, Mr. Allen Akiona, at (808) 421-1265 or via email at aakiona@hfcahawaii.org.