Kahului Drive-Through “Festival of Hope for Families” in Need, Nov. 21

Child and Family Service Teams Up with General Contractors Association of Hawaii for Largest Ever Drive-Thru Festival of Hope for Families event at four island locations on Nov. 21. PC: Courtesy.

Child and Family Service Teams Up with General Contractors Association of Hawaii for Largest Ever Drive Through Festival of Hope for Families event at four island locations on Nov. 21. PC: Courtesy.

Child and Family Service Teams Up with General Contractors Association of Hawaii for Largest Ever Drive Through Festival of Hope for Families event at four island locations on Nov. 21. PC: Courtesy.

Child and Family Service Teams Up with General Contractors Association of Hawaii for Largest Ever Drive Through Festival of Hope for Families event at four island locations on Nov. 21. PC: Courtesy.

Child and Family Service Teams Up with General Contractors Association of Hawaii for Largest Ever Drive Through Festival of Hope for Families event at four island locations on Nov. 21. PC: Courtesy.

Child and Family Service Teams Up with General Contractors Association of Hawaii for Largest Ever Drive Through Festival of Hope for Families event at four island locations on Nov. 21. PC: Courtesy.

Child and Family Service Teams Up with General Contractors Association of Hawaii for Largest Ever Drive Through Festival of Hope for Families event at four island locations on Nov. 21. PC: Courtesy.

Child and Family Service Teams Up with General Contractors Association of Hawaii for Largest Ever Drive Through Festival of Hope for Families event at four island locations on Nov. 21. PC: Courtesy.

Child and Family Service Teams Up with General Contractors Association of Hawaii for Largest Ever Drive Through Festival of Hope for Families event at four island locations on Nov. 21. PC: Courtesy.

Child and Family Service is teaming up with the General Contractors Association of Hawaiʻi to host four Festival of Hope for Families drive-through events offering local individuals and families support resources, services, and chef-prepared meals on Saturday, Nov. 21 on Oʻahu, Maui, Kauaʻi, and Hawaiʻi Island.

Part of a series of events, the Festival of Hope for Families events help provide needed supplies, resources, screenings, and family-friendly activities to those in need during the pandemic crisis. More than 1,000 families are expected to attend Saturday’s drive-thru events across the islands and there are still spots available.

Events around the state include the following:

• Maui: King’s Cathedral Maui, 777 Maui Veterans Highway, Kahului. Saturday, Nov. 21, 2020 at 9-11 a.m.
• Hawaiʻi Island: Nani Mau Restaurant & Garden, 421 Makalika St, Hilo. Saturday, Nov. 21, 2020 at 9-10:30 a.m.
• Oʻahu: CFS ʻEwa Beach Campus, 91-1841 Fort Weaver Rd, ʻEwa Beach. Saturday, Nov. 21, 2020 at 9-10:30 a.m.
• Kauaʻi: Crossroads Christian Fellowship Kauai, Kapaʻa Bypass, Kapa‘a. Saturday, Nov. 21, 2020 at 9-11 a.m.

**Registration is required for this event. RSVP at: https://www.childandfamilyservice.org/festival/ 

These family-focused festivals will follow social distancing guidelines and require that all attendees remain in their cars while driving through festival booths where groceries, chef-prepared meal kits, Community Resource Kits, PPE items and advice, and educational resources will be distributed. Attendees will also receive a CFS Family Lokahi Kit, which includes items purchased and donated by local organizations and businesses, like children’s books by local authors, card games, activity books, parenting and family resources, stress relief ideas, and hotline information. Lokahi Kits will also include educational materials and a pack of Ho’o Wala Au – Talk Story Cards, which include a range of questions for parents and children alike with the goal of sparking conversation and bringing families closer together.

“This will be our largest series of Festival of Hope for Families events to date! We’ve held nine events on five islands since the pandemic began and we’re honored to partner with the GCA to put on this multi-location extravaganza and greatly expand our impact. Not only does the Festival give out meals and activities for kids, but it gives our caring staff a chance to check in with the community and connect with those in need of our services. As the stress of the holiday season, distance learning, and job insecurity continue to weigh on us all, we can now support even more people across the state, with the generous support of the GCA,” says CFS President and CEO, Karen Tan.

“Each year, the GCA selects an organization to donate to and this year, we were inspired by Child and Family Service’s Festival of Hope and saw this as a way to have a positive impact on the entire state and touch the lives of Hawaii families,” said Leslie Isemoto, 2020 president of the GCA, who will personally be at the Hilo event. “In order to sponsor these events, our generous members stepped forward during this challenging time and donated as companies and individuals to exceed our $100,000 fundraising goal. I would also like to recognize the Hawaii Island Contractors Association and its members for their contributions to this campaign. Throughout the pandemic, our industry kept building Hawaii as an essential service, and we’re also committed to building strong, resilient families.”

“When we heard about CFS’s grassroots Festival of Hope for Families events, we knew we wanted to support them because not only were they providing families with much-needed food, but they were also providing other support services to help them through the unique challenges caused by this pandemic,” explained Cheryl Walthall, the executive vice president of the GCA, who will be at the Ewa Beach event. “We all have friends, neighbors, and family members who have been affected by this crisis and we wanted to do our part to ease the immense pressures on our community.”

These events are part of a series of drive-thru giveaways throughout the state during the COVID-19 crisis. The General Contractors Association of Hawaii is a major sponsor of the Nov. 21 events.