June 2016 - Palama Settlement

NON-PROFIT
ORGANIZATION
U.S. Postage Paid
Honolulu, HI
Permit No. 404
Palama Settlement
810 N. Vineyard Blvd.
Honolulu, Hawaii 96817-3590
Return Service Requested
Palama
Settlement
Na Leo O Palama
“Voices of Palama”
ICTP Alumni: Christine Gamboa fulfills her career dreams
Today, Christine Gamboa’s
future is bright. She is a social worker at the State of
Hawaii Department of Human Services with a dream
to one day receive her master’s degree in social work.
June 2016
Inside this issue:
Join us on
social media:
Board of Trustees
President: Wayne Iseri
First Vice President: Brian Uemori
Second Vice President: Aaron Ellis
Third Vice President: Jason Ito
Treasurer: John Taira
Secretary: Patricia Nishimoto, DNS
Logo Launch
2
City Council Honor
2
Jackie Robinson
3
Van Blessing
3
Jr. Chef Challenge
3
Malama Palama Gala
4
Trustees
Catherine Camp
Al Carganilla
Valentino Ceria
Raymond Iwamoto
Peter Kim
Valerie Moore
Stan Mukai
Paul Saito
Su Shin
Sherry Walters
Gary Wassel
Emeritus: Paula Rath
Interim Executive Director:
Donna Taniguchi
CAREER OPPORTUNITIES
Lifeguards (part-time)
Recreation program specialist (part-time)
Recreation attendant (part-time)
Please send resume to info@palamasettlement.org
Flashback to 1997, Gamboa
is a student of Palama Settlement’s In - Community
Treatment Program (ICTP).
She was failing her freshman/sophomore year at
Moanalua High School,
barely attending school. It Interim Executive Director Donna Taniguchi (left) catching up with
was a challenging time in her Christine Gamboa (right) on a recent Palama Settlement campus visit.
life as she was also settling in
with her foster parents. providing them with aca- She enjoyed working with
Gamboa had an option to demics, we also provide the Palama Settlement staff.
attend Palama’s ICTP and them with life skills and “The staff was easy to talk
guide them to make right with and they were open,
she took it.
choices.”
supportive and non judgemental,” she said. “I
Since 1970, Palama’s ICTP
works with adjudicated The ICTP program accepts felt as if I could talk to them
youth who struggle in the minors ages 12 to 17 years about anything and they
traditional school setting. old and provides them with would be straight forward,
“We provide a place where a nurturing environment. honest and genuine with
students are supported,” said With a team consisting of a me.”
Edna Godinet, ICTP pro- program manager, a counsegram manager. “Besides lor and an educator, the stu- The small class size allowed
dents are supported in her to build a support netachieving their goal of work with the teachers as
earning credits towards well as the other students. “I
graduation and eliminating still have friends from the
behaviors that are barriers to program that I keep in touch
school success.
with today,” Gamboa said.
Donor Choice
#96400
#38900
ICTP Educator Matt Gumapac
lectures on financial literacy.
It was at Palama’s ICTP
class where Gamboa learned
to enjoy academics and
about real-life skills. “The
program really set me on
track to get my academics in
order,” Christine said
proudly. “The program
taught us about practical
skills like filling out job applications and tax forms.”
She is grateful that Palama
continues to offer ICTP to
support youth in our community. “ICTP is a great
program and I’m glad to see
it’s still here to help kids,”
Gamboa said. She believes
this program gives youth
hope and a path to a positive
future. “Everyone deserves a
second chance,” she said.
Page 2
Message
from Interim
fromExecutive
the Interim
Director
Executive Director
As I reflect over the years
that I’ve worked here at
Palama Settlement, I think
of our mission and how for
120 years we’ve been helping those with the greatest
needs in our surrounding
community. Established in
1896, this year marks 120
years since Palama Settlement was founded. With a
vision for social change, in
1905 social worker James
Rath and his wife Ragna
were recruited to Palama
Settlement and pioneered
the development of many
innovative programs to address the needs of the community and its residents.
To help celebrate our 120
anniversary, we launched an
annual giving campaign this
year. We would like to
thank all of our generous
donors, who are making a
difference in the lives of our
keiki, kupuna and families.
Another significant accomplishment in the first
quarter of the year was the
completion of Palama Settlement’s Community Assessment, which gave our board
and staff a framework for
strategic planning endeavors.
The Community Assessment
engaged diverse stakeholder
groups, including Palama
staff, board members and
outside community members. I’m looking forward to
the progress and forward
momentum that will propel
Palama Settlement into the
second half of the century.
Our board of directors
Youth Experience HPU Basketball Game
Seven members from
Palama’s Pakolea Basketball
Program attended a Hawaii
Pacific University (HPU)
Sharks Men’s basketball game
on Saturday, Feb. 20. Complimentary access to the game
was provided by the HPU
men’s basketball team and
Head Coach Darren Vorderbruegge. The special feature
of the game was the annual
Page 3
Na Leo O Palama
and staff continue to support Palama Settlement’s
mission and move us into
the future. As many of you
know, Wendy Abe, our former executive director, has
left to pursue a new career
opportunity. A search committee for our new executive
director has been formed,
headed by President of the
Board of Trustees Wayne
Iseri.
We look forward to a
busy summer with our popular Summer Enrichment
Program, PreK ACE and
recreational activities such as
swim, hula and ukulele for
the keiki.
Mahalo,
Donna Taniguchi
PBS Hawaii Partners with Palama to Show Jackie Robinson Preview
A big mahalo to Design
Asylum for donating their
time and expertise in updating Palama Settlement’s
logo.
“This re-imagined logo
helps to refresh the identity
as the wings were developed to be crisp and agile
and the shield emulates its
continued presence for
accommodating those in
need,” said Lowell Gillia,
Design Asylum president.
Celebrating 120 years, the
logo will reflect its years of
tradition and history in the
Kalihi-Palama community.
City Council Honors Wendy Abe
Kam’s Helmets Game, in
honor of former HPU
player and Punahou alum
Kameron Steinhoff, who
passed away in 2011 in a
skateboarding accident,
while not wearing a helmet.
Mahalo to HPU! The
boys enjoyed one of the
more exciting college basketball games this year.
About 50 attendees
filled the Palama Settlement dining hall on
Wednesday, April 6, to
view PBS Hawaii’s 40minute sneak preview of
Jackie Robinson, the latest documentary from
acclaimed flimmaker Ken
Burns.
The two-part documentary follows the story
of the first African American to play in baseball’s
major leagues.
Prior to the screening
Paula Rath, Palama Settlement board of trustees—
emeritus discussed
Robinson’s ties to Palama
Settlement. In 1941, Robinson stayed at Palama
Settlement when Waikiki
hotels barred him entry
because of the color of
his skin.
“I’m very proud of Palama’s legacy of acceptance
of all people,” Rath said.
Following the documentary preview, the audience participated in a
lively discussion on the
historical times and the
impact Robinson had on
the lives of many.
Courtesy of PBS Hawaii
During the discussion session, Jim Becker, sports writer when Jackie
Robinson played, shared some his personal stories with the audience.
808 Jr. Chef Challenge
Congratulations to Team
Palama for their delicious
chicken thigh dish at this
year’s 3rd Annual 808 Jr.
Chef Showdown! On April
16, at Palama Settlement’s
dining hall, the Palama chefs
won in the category of “most
variety of fruits and vegetables” with their stuffed chicken thighs with quinoa pilaf
and strawberry salad. Six
teams from Kalihi-Palama
area non-profits competed
with their unique dishes,
created with a healthy twist.
Team Kokua Kalihi Valley
took first place with their
Hawaiian Chinese sir-fry.
Congratulations to all the
youth participants!
From left: David Kawada, recreation director; Wendy Abe, former executive director; Sharon Brown, First Hawaiian Bank
Foundation president; and Wayne Iseri, Palama board president.
Councilmembers present Wendy Abe (middle), Palama staff and
board member Jason Ito (front row) with honorary certificate.
Palama youth athletes pose with their new helmets after the HPU vs.
University of Hawaii at Hilo basketball game.
Former Executive Director
Wendy Abe was recently
recognized for her dedication to Palama Settlement
and service to our community. On April 20, the City
Council honored Wendy in
a recognition ceremony at
Honolulu Hale. Presented
by Councilmember Joey
Manahan, the honorary
certificate recognized Wendy’s “unwavering dedication to those that she
serves.” Best wishes to
Wendy as she pursues her
new career at the U.S. Japan
Council. During the transition, Donna Taniguchi, a 15
-year veteran staff will serve
as Palama’s Interim Executive Director.
Mahalo First Hawaiian Bank!
From left: Clyde Peters, RJ Cabico and Manny Suka from Team
Palama preparing their chicken dish at the 808 Jr. Chef Challenge.
Thank you to everyone who attended our van blessing
ceremony on February 25, 2016. Kahu Kordell Kekoa
conducted the ceremony with Palama staff, participants,
youth, and special guests.
A special mahalo nui loa to First Hawaiian Bank for their
generous donation to help fund our newest van! The van
will be utilized by various participants including our Pakolea youth athletes, In-Community Treatment Program
students, and seniors.