Events – ALS Foundation of Hawaii

May 26, 2023: Sign-Waving and “Lei of Remembrance” Memorial Ceremony

May 31, 2023

ALS awareness, Events, May is ALS Awareness Month, News, pALS, People with ALS

The Friday before Memorial Day, I drove to this quaint, orchid shop in Kahaluu, past the elementary school into this unassuming driveway where a small, barn-like shed with galvanized iron sheets for walls, houses a busy work arrangement of tables and chairs topped by all manner of workshop paraphernalia. A tall, lean, elderly lady with an envy-producing, ramrod-straight back, charmingly welcomes me with a smile. She knows what I came for – the 300+ purple dendrobium orchids that I will…

May 12, 2023: Proclamation Day at the Capitol

May 28, 2023

ALS awareness, Events, Hawaii ALS Residence, May is ALS Awareness Month, People with ALS, Proclamation Day

Tradition- that’s what assures that important things are given due prominence and serve to ensure continuity. Every year, May has always been celebrated as ALS Awareness Month. Here in Hawaii Nei, we don’t only believe that we need to be aware of the concerns of our ALS community, we also need to recognize the enormous responsibility families carry on by living with ALS daily! For the first time since 2019, we trekked to the Capitol to meet with our other…

Christmas Caroling: A Delightful Service and Tradition**

January 7, 2023

ALS awareness, ALSFH Christmas Message, Christmas Party, ChristmasCelebrations, Events, Partners, Service provision, volunteers

The pandemic years certainly put a damper on a number of activities worth doing, especially those that encourage socializing and connecting with fellow human beings. Sighs of relief were exhaled all over the world when the pandemic’s scourge was cut to a manageable level. Things are inching towards normal, including the revival of Christmas traditions that were severely verboten in the past two years. One of these is Christmas caroling. On December 13 last year, an opportunity arose for a…

Celebrating May, 2022: Year Three of the Pandemic

April 21, 2022

#ALSinCOVID, ALS awareness, Events, Fundraising Project, Hawaii ALS Residence, May is ALS Awareness Month

For as long as I can remember, the fifth month of every year is celebrated as ALS Awareness and Families Appreciation Month in our community. And May is in a few days! The celebrations always start with the Governor issuing a proclamation to that effect and since the first proclamation, it had been always been held in the Governor’s Ceremony Room in the State Capitol surrounded by serious looking portraits of former governors hanging from dignified wall panels of koa…

Julie Hess: An Eye for Art, A Heart for Earth

November 16, 2021

Events, Partners, volunteers

One doesn’t have to be a global leader nor a scientist to understand the impact of climate change on our planet. Among other things, small island-states like our own in the vast Pacific stand to bear the brunt of rising waters. This situation was made visually starker in a recent speech on the impact of global warming by Tuvalu’s minister delivered and filmed while knee-deep in ocean water. It was another global disaster – still possibly triggered by relentless development…

MAY 2021 as ALS Awareness and Families Appreciation Month

April 21, 2021

#ALSinCOVID, ALS awareness, Events, May is ALS Awareness Month, News

We look back with fondness to the time when we were able to gather to celebrate May as OUR month. This coming May is the second during this time of Covid pandemic. Hawaii, like most states in the continental US is still under restrictions for public health security. Thus, our normally highly participated celebratory events are going to be just as quiet like last year’s. However, our efforts at bringing awareness to the community are no less robust and has…

Our Year Thus Far, and the Fate of our Annual Holiday Party

December 1, 2020

#ALSinCOVID, ChristmasCelebrations, Events

You may have heard: our annual Hawaii ALS Community Christmas (Holiday) Party is not happening this year. Our venue for the past two years, the Honolulu Central Seventh Day Adventist Church, is not open for a party or crowds more than the number allowed by the health authorities. As a testament to the careful vigilance of our families, our community has not reported any case of coronavirus (knock on wood) thus far, and we’d like to keep it that way.…

“Lei of Remembrance” Memorial Ceremony, 2020 Edition

May 22, 2020

#ALSinCOVID, ALS awareness, Events, Help pALS, News

23 May, 2020, Kailua, HI. This year, the “Lei of Remembrance ceremony will be presented in video form. Every year for the past six years, the annual celebration – the ultimate culminating annual May event here in Hawaii – has been held in the courtyard of the State Capitol. In support of the State’s plan to stem the pandemic, the ceremony will be streamed for the first time on 29 May, Friday at 5-5:30pm. Streaming site will be announced midweek.…

Governor Ige’s and Mayor Caldwell’s Proclamations

May 13, 2020

ALS awareness, Events, News

May 13, 2020, Kailua, HI. Both the State Capitol and Honolulu Hale are closed to the public because of health requirements due to the current pandemic. On May 8, Friday, Governor Ige’s Proclamation of May, 2020 as ALS Awareness Month was received via email. The hard copy was not available although it had been requested. May 8 would have been the day when the ALS Community in Hawaii attends a solemn celebration at the Ceremony Room at the State Capitol…

MAY, 2020 AS ALS AWARENESS MONTH: WHAT’S HAPPENING, HAWAII?

May 2, 2020

ALS awareness, Events, News, Presentations

Short answer is: None, in person. The past six years, Hawaii’s ALS Community celebrated May as ALS Awareness and Families Appreciation Month in many ways. Usually, the month starts with a series of Proclamations by local officials. The Governor’s Proclamation was read by the Governor in a solemn ceremony in the State Capitol Ceremony Room attended by patients, their families, caregivers, and representatives of the different service provider agencies in the state. With the pandemic continuing to rage in our…