North Shore NewsAloha mai kakou Ko‘olauloa!
The Friends of the Library Kahuku (FOLK) has had a remarkably busy pandemic season trying to continue our work and programs for the Kahuku Public and School Library. FOLK funds the children’s music and story time programs, Tuesday performances and guest lectures, special events like the Christmas and Halloween events, and Battle of the Books at the Kahuku Public and School Library.
FOLK just closed out the Hawai‘i State Grant-in- Aid managed by the Hawai‘i State Library System for $55,000 in August 2020. Kahuku Public and School Library Branch Manager Tamara King founded the Battle of the Books competition in Hawai‘i in 2015 and FOLK coordinates and partially funds the only afterschool program for elementary students to increase literacy through an interactive reading competition with collaboration with volunteer school teachers, staff, and parents. Battle of the Books competition has had the participation of Kahuku Elementary, La‘ie Elementary, Hau‘ula Elementary, Sunset Beach Elementary, Ka‘a‘awa Elementary, and Asia Pacific International School but due to COVID- 19 this year’s competition was cancelled and will be rescheduled soon. Without our community sponsors to help our afterschool Battle of the Books reading program, FOLK and Tamara King wouldn’t be able to put on the annual competition, many thanks to our sponsors: Angel’s Ice Cream, Brigham Young University-Hawai‘i Bookstore, Cackle Fresh Egg Farm, Defend O‘ahu Foundation, Giovanni’s Shrimp Truck, Hawaiian Island X-treme Smoothie and Shave Ice, L & L Hawaiian BBQ La‘ie, McDonald’s La‘ie, Marriott Hotel – Bistro, North Shore Taco’s, Ohana Foundation, Ono-Yo Yogurt, Papa Ole’s Kitchen, Polynesian Culture Center, Rainbowzz Shave Ice, Shrimp Shack Punalu‘u, Turtle Bay Turtle Bay Foundation Grant and Turtle Bay Resort, Waimea Valley, and Wili Wili’s Plantation Café.
When the pandemic outbreak hit, FOLK scrambled to provide resources to protect our families in our Ko‘olauloa district through our sewing program at the Cool Lab in the Kahuku Public and School Library. Due to our grant from the Hawai‘i State Public Library we paid for Mrs. Savani Aupiu to teach a sewing class on how to sew masks and what supplies are needed hich FOLK live streamed on the Red Raider Generation facebook page (mahalo for working with our FOLK community relations point of contact, Kelela Mo‘o to use the page!). Mrs. Aupiu received over 400 views and due to community interest we have scheduled her and several other sewers from our district into our Cool Lab in the Kahuku Public and School Library next year to continue the sewing programs for our community!
In closing out the Grant-in-Aid for $55,000 we paid over $11,000 in books and expenses for future Battle of the Books competitions, plus books on Hawaiiana and Oceanic history to increase literacy of cultural importance to our district learners. FOLK is also excited to have procured a 3D Glowforge Pro laser printer that can etch on metal, glass, and produce innovative commercial grade printing needs at Kahuku Public and School Library for our faculty, staff, and community programs. FOLK also procured supplies, equipment, and materials for Cool Lab center, future sewing classes and materials, and future music and story time programs in the Kahuku Public and School Library.
Many thanks to our community partners and volunteers to continue to collaborate and support FOLK’s mission to help our Kahuku Public and School Library. Many, many thanks to Rep. Sean Quinlan and his dedicated efforts to advocate for FOLK to receive the Hawai‘i State Grant-in-Aid and to David Mitchell for working with Rep. Quinlan. Many, many thanks also to Hawai‘i State Public Library System staff Vicki Kitajima, Sonia Mejes, and Diem Nguyen for all your kind assistance when most government offices closed due to COVID-19, each of you kept on trudging along with FOLK week after week! Our work could not have been accomplished without FOLK officers: Kay Yumoto-Wagner (president), Andrea Anixt (vice president), Mike Kirk-Kuwaye (treasurer), Robyn Sayre (secretary), Line-Noue Memea Kruse (grant administrator/director), and Tamara King (branch manager). Many thanks to Kelela Mo‘o, FOLK community relations point of contact. If you would like to volunteer to help FOLK or if you have ideas or suggestions for future programs, please contact FOLK president Kay Yumoto-Wagner at wagmoto@gmail.com. Mahalo!