HANAPEPE — Lt. Sarah Smuda did not intend to put pressure on the Contractors Association of Kaua‘i Board members, but her appearance prompted the members to hurriedly finish wrapping Christmas gifts Monday.
“These are going to a family the CAK adopted for Christmas,” said Trinette Kaui of A&B Properties and a CAK Board member. “Last year, we adopted two families for Thanksgiving. This year, the Salvation Army took care of families for Thanksgiving so we decided to adopt a family for Christmas.”
Working with Smuda, the criteria of families needing help was narrowed to a family involved in the construction industry, Kaui said.
The family selected saw dad, the primary breadwinner, lose his job in construction and is looking for employment. To add to the woes, mom’s sister passed away recently, and the family adopted the four surviving children.
That brought the family’s children to eight, ranging in ages from 8 months through teens.
“That meant the family needed a lot of things from infant care items to gift cards for the teens,” Kaui said. “Several of the things we purchased included a pre-baked gingerbread house kit and a gingerbread cookie kit because we wanted something the family could do together.”
Kaui said the board members had a lot of fun shopping for their adopted family, stocking up on assorted food and even adding a pack of compact flourescent lamps to help the family “go green.”
“One of the board members contributed a gift card from Big Save that will enable them to enjoy a holiday meal,” Kaui said. “Everything we enjoy, we want them to be able to enjoy.”
The Salvation Army, Hanapepe Corps is no stranger to CAK because outside of Christmas, CAK hosts a food drive at each of its meetings, the collection being turned over to the Hanapepe Corps.
Additionally, Kaui said they volunteer and work with the Kokua Soup Kitchen program and are constantly vigilant on the needs of Smuda and the Hanapepe Corps.
• Dennis Fujimoto, photographer and staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 253) or dfujimoto@kauaipubco.com.
