LIHU‘E — Vonn Ramos, of Hale ‘Opio, said school is right around the corner and Hale ‘Opio wanted to be sure students were ready for their return to classrooms.
LIHU‘E — Vonn Ramos, of Hale ‘Opio, said school is right around the corner and Hale ‘Opio wanted to be sure students were ready for their return to classrooms.
Hale ‘Opio and its network of community partners hosted a quasi Back to School event at its offices on Umi Street, where Hale ‘Opio hosted a job fair, activities, food trucks and an “open hale.”
“The idea was to have an open house so people know what kind of services are available to them when schools start,” Ramos said. “When they run into trouble, they need to know where to turn.”
More than 200 backpacks of assorted school supplies were distributed to students who missed the earlier big school
supplies distribution.
“A lot of the recipients said they missed the other big distribution because they couldn’t register, or it was already sold out,” a Hale ‘Opio staff said. “We had a lot of houseless families, so we added the job fair so people could find out about opportunities that are available.”
Letty Ruiz said even she received something from the morning event.
“My daughters, they got school bags with school supplies, and somebody told them they could have books, too,” Letty said. “One of my girls took two books, the older one had three books, and even I had a book.”
Ramos said this event was for the community.
“It was really good,” a Hale ‘Opio volunteer said. “Even the grand prize winner of gift cards was a houseless family.”
