“We focus not on necessarily the excitement of presents or the commercialism of Christmas, but on the family and us as an organization,” says Hawaiian Airlines’ Community Relations Director, Debbie Nakanelua-Richards.

Families are asked to make a nominal contribution to participate in the parade, and for the last 10 years the monies were collected in an envelope and delivered to Partners in Development Foundation.

This year to honor their employees and their families that give, Nakanelua-Richards delivered a bigger presentation so that everyone at PIDF could see the generous check going to our Ka Paʻalana Homeless Family Education program. She described the giving campaign at Hawaiian Airlines, how about five years ago, charitable giving became a top priority for the organization.

Her leadership with the airline has seen the development of the Hawaiian Airlines Team Kōkua, which oversees the company’s giving, “including the deployment of more than 1,000 employee volunteers and their family members every year to assist and support communities throughout the Islands,” according to a press release.

“It’s been proven that any time you engage in giving, in supporting, in kokua, it often impacts you more than the people you think you’re helping. From our families to your Ka Paʻalana families, we mahalo you.”

Ka Paʻalana families at the Family Assessment Shelter were invited to witness the blessing ceremony and enjoy the new interactive exhibit for the first time.

With shouts of joy, the children and their parents dressed as pilots and flight attendants, took control in the cockpit, and played with the interactive LED displays on the back of the headrests. For many, this was their first time aboard a plane.

After the unveiling, our families were told that the rest of the Discovery Center was open for them to explore, free of charge! The children spent rest of the morning playing and enjoying the rest of the exhibits.

Thank you, Hawaiian Airlines and Children’s Discovery Center for inviting our staff and participants to be the first guests to experience your new gift!

Arrangements were made with Co-Program Manager, Jin Chang and Family Literacy Trainer, Terry Nakamura to meet w/ Debbie at the Hawaiian Airlines storage facility.

Oodles of Noodles!!!

While they were expecting some amount of food, they were surprised at the extent of the donation that was available to them. By the time they had finished, 300 hundred cases, each containing 30 packaged rice-noodle meals had been loaded into the Ka Pa’alana “Meals On Wheels” panel truck, for a total of 9000 meals! Staff member John Deliso later exclaimed, “That’s a lot of saimin!” The food donation was valued at $12,000.

At a later date, Mr. Deliso met with Ms. Nakanelua at the Hawaiian Airlines corporate offices and presented her with a mahalo poster made by program participants who had benefitted from the airlines’ contribution.

Mahalo Nui Loa Hawaiian Airlines!

This holiday season was no different: in November, Hawaiian Airlines employees donated non-perishable items to help Ka Pa‘alana’s families prepare their Thanksgiving meals. In December, Hawaiian Airlines employees once again blessed Ka Pa‘alana’s families by donating money as part of their participation in the Honolulu City Lights Parade.

During a time when so many focus on receiving rather than giving, the generosity of Hawaiian Airlines and their employees has made the season that much brighter for many of our needy families.

Mahalo!