UHMC Honor Society Launches Toy Closet for ‘Wish’ Keiki

Make-A-Wish Hawaii photo.

Phi Theta Kappa, Psi Sigma Chapter, the honor society at UH Maui College, launched a toy closet to help wish-granting volunteers associated with Make-A-Wish Hawaii connect with local keiki battling life-threatening medical conditions.

“After attending training for Make-A-Wish, we decided that the best way to help Maui ‘wish’ children would be to start a ‘wish closet’ for them,” said Ellen Peterson, faculty advisor to the honor society. “We launched a campus-wide toy drive and also partnered with Target— the employees of Target chose Make-A-Wish Maui children as their holiday charity and donated more than 50 toys to the toy closet.”

“Make-A-Wish Hawaii grants the wishes of children on every Hawaiian Island, relying heavily on the volunteer efforts of the community,” said Glenn Mendoza, volunteer coordinator at Make-A-Wish Hawaii. “The caring hearts and helping hands of wish-granting volunteers lay the foundation for wishes-come-true, and it really all starts the moment our volunteers meet with the wish kids—and that’s where the toy drive comes in.”

Make-A-Wish Hawaii photo.

Once approved as a volunteer, the first step for wish-granting volunteers, or “wish granters,” is to travel to the home of their designated wish keiki to get to know him or her and discover the child’s one true wish—which is not always an easy task.

To encourage the child to share his or her favorite things or greatest desires, wish granters will often bring a toy on their first visit. But first, they need a toy to bring.

To find out more about the toy closet at UHMC, contact Peterson at [email protected].

Address questions about Make-A-Wish Hawaii to Glenn Mendoza at [email protected].

About Phi Theta Kappa

Phi Theta Kappa, the national honor society for two-year degree-granting institutions, was chartered at Maui Community College in 1972 as the Psi Sigma chapter. Objectives of the society are to promote scholarship, leadership, fellowship, and service among honor students nationally and internationally.

Make-A-Wish Hawaii photo.

Studies show that students who join Phi Theta Kappa become more motivated to complete their degrees and become more involved on campus and in the community.

Phi Theta Kappa students participate in leadership and community service activities that build civic engagement and strengthen a student’s resume, scholarship and career applications. To qualify for membership, students must have a minimum 3.5 cumulative GPA and a minimum of 12 credits completed at the 100-level or above.

For more about Make-A-Wish Hawaii, go online.