On Saturday, April 16, Neighborhood Place of Puna (NPP) staff and Family Resource Center members united for the first ever Easter Hop drive-thru event.
This Easter was a wet and windy one but that did not deter us from making sure our members would have a hopping bunny day. As NPP staff handed families their Easter gifts and food bags, smiles from keiki and ‘ohana shined so bright that at one point we even forgot about the rain.
With the help of our generous donors, we were able to supply a variety of age-appropriate Easter baskets filled to the brim with gifts like coloring books, glow sticks, easter eggs with candy, keiki masks and hand sanitizers, and more. With an amazing donation by Hawaiʻi County Economic Opportunity Council (HCEOC), we were also able to provide our families with food kits from Frank’s Foods, Inc.
Anashe Brooks, the NPP Family Resource Center Program Coordinator, described that the highlight of her day was, “seeing the smiles on the children’s faces, their excitement when they were handed their Easter baskets, and the appreciation from the parents when receiving the food bags.”
Thanks to our donors and dedicated staff, we distributed 158 Easter baskets and 100 food bags for families. While the event centered current Family Resource Center members, the excitement of the event–especially in the midst of the rainy weekend–drew attention from other families as well. Brooks described that connecting with families who were not members of the NPP Family Resource Center was another highlight for her and her coworkers. Brooks mentions that since the event, NPP staff has connected with at least 15 families so they can learn more about the benefits of joining the Family Resource Center.
If you or a family you know would like to learn more about becoming a member of our Family Resource Center and the services it offers, visit neighborhoodplace.org/frc or call us at 808-501-1413.
