LIHU‘E — A group of Leadership Kaua‘i adult students has chosen to make volunteerism the focus of its capstone project and hopes to motivate fellow Kauaians to get involved, if only for an hour.
“It’s the kind of collective effort that could really make a difference with our nonprofits,” said Kaua‘i County Planning Director Michael Dahilig, who is a Leadership Kaua‘i program student. “(The nonprofits) are always looking for some kind of support, especially when it comes to labor. Labor is probably the largest element of their overhead costs of operations.”
The Leadership Kaua‘i group will host a Hot Rocks for Humanity event in Lihu‘e this month that will feature a special community imu, an underground oven that slow roasts food.
Here is how the event works:
• Visit volunteerkauai.org to register your pan of food for the imu, which has a 100-pan capacity, so register early to ensure a spot. Also, print and sign a copy of the website’s Volunteer Pledge, indicating to which nonprofit you wish to donate an hour of your time.
Participating organizations include Kaua‘i Food Bank, Habitat for Humanity, Hospice, Humane Society, YWCA, Brad’s Project (aka. Huiolaka), Kaua‘i Aloha Society, American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life, Red Cross and Kaua‘i Police Activities League.
• From 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. on April 29, visit the Grove Farm office in Puhi to drop off your pan of food, a canned food item to donate to Kaua‘i Food Bank and your signed Volunteer Pledge. Representatives from the nonprofit organizations may be on site to answer questions about volunteering.
• From 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. on April 30, return to the Grove Farm office to pick up your pan of food.
For additional information about the event, visit volunteerkauai.org.
The goal of Leadership Kaua‘i’s nine-month adult training program is to improve and broaden community leadership resources through education. The Annual Leadership Program will begin accepting new participant applications this summer for classes scheduled to begin in September.
For additional information about Leadership Kaua‘i, visit leadership.thinkingman.com.
