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HTA students join Lāhainā Strong and learn about the power of community and aloha

Our Grade 4 and 5 students volunteered for a day with Lāhainā Strong and learned firsthand how they can make change in their community for their friends, their families, their neighbors, and all of Lāhainā. 

Meeting up at Kā‘anapali Beach Park, they learned from Uncle Junya Nakoa about the purpose of Lāhainā Strong and his hopes for the community and our keiki. Riley Bond talked to the students about how they can use their voices to help Lāhainā fire victims and spread awareness about what happened in Lāhainā on Aug. 8, and what is happening more than 100 days after the fires. 

“You could see that everything Junya and Riley had shared had inspired our kids and they were ready to make a difference. They jumped into helping sell T-shirts to raise money for the community. Within minutes, they sold three shirts and pretty soon there was an entire crowd. For more than two hours the students poured their hearts into the cause and captured the hearts of so many people who had nothing but positive things to say about how inspiring and meaningful it was that they were there. Of all of our Field Studies, this is the one that will stay with me for a lifetime. You could see how contagious kindness is, and how it is the little things that inspire change. Watching their passion and enthusiasm brought tears to my eyes. I felt really proud to be their teacher and to see them making a difference. It was one of the most impactful things I have witnessed in my seven years as a teacher.
Mahalo to Lāhainā Strong for teaching one of life’s biggest lessons: the beauty and strength of community and aloha. Lāhainā’s strength lies in its people — including our keiki — and we couldn’t have done this without everyone’s support.”
kaitlynAure
Kaitlyn Aure
Grade 4&5 teacher

MAHALO

Kathleen Boado and Katie Hemm, our HTA ‘ohana who joined us on the day and who helped inspire the kids to promote the shirts with aloha. 

Leilani’s On the Beach and Jason Donez who so kindly sent over their delicious fruit slushies to hydrate our keiki and to Lāhainā Strong for the yummy lunches. 

To learn more about Lāhainā Strong and how you can make a difference, visit @officiallahainastrong on Instagram where you can sign up to volunteer and more.
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