“Nutcracker Sweets,” Kauai Dance Theatre’s winter showcase, is scheduled 4 p.m. Saturday at Lihue Parish Hall, 4340 Nawiliwili Road.
This 45-minute family friendly dance performance, led by director Janie Crane, will feature music from the Nutcracker and inspirational holiday tunes.
Donations of $5 at the door will benefit the Garden Island/Zonta Club Christmas Fund.
The community-supported fund helps people like Melody, who is trying to reestablish herself and secure permanent housing for herself and her 15-year-old daughter Cassandra.
The challenge is, he is unable to work due to a disability. As well, Melody become homeless and turned to a shelter for a safe place to stay so her daughter wouldn’t have to sleep in their car.
She has been living in transitional housing for over a year now and has just received her HUD Voucher. She is looking for a HUD approved unit to move into. Melody is attending to her health concerns while trying her best to keep things as consistent and stable for Cassandra as possible as she works through this transition period in their lives.
Melody is trying to prepare for her new home and would be delighted to receive some blankets. Towels or bedding for her new home. Cassandra loves to draw and color. Some colored pens, markers and a drawing book would be greatly appreciated by her.
The Garden Island/Zonta Club Christmas Fund is off to a great start. Since Thanksgiving, it has raised $5,000 in donations of $100 or greater, every penny of which was matched dollar-for-dollar by the Hale Uluwehi Kauai Fund.
“To encourage even more community engagement and generosity, the Hale Uluwehi Kauai Fund will increase our match from $5,000 to $10,000,” said a press statement.
Here’s how the program works.
Families apply for assistance through social service agencies, which in turn connect with the Zonta Club of Kauai. It uses donations to buy gift certificates for those in need. The certificates can be used for gifts and groceries.
Each donated dollar is accounted for and carefully recorded. There are no administrators collecting salaries. This is run by volunteers like 92-year-old Yoshiko “Dimples” Kano, who has led the fund drive for two decades.
The Garden Island shares daily stories about those who could use assistance this holiday season. While the names are not real, the situations described are.
If you hold a fundraiser for the Christmas Fund, let us know and we’ll spread the word. Anyone making a donation of $50 or more may have his or her picture presenting the check published in TGI.
The fund accepts only monetary donations. Checks payable to Zonta Club of Kauai Foundation may be mailed to P.O. Box 3032, Lihue, HI 96766. For more information, call 822-4517.
