The girls worked hard all day Friday raising money for homeless keiki! To check out more photos from the GRLZ 4 Change program, click here!Aliamanu Program Assistants Bri and Dani have been working hard to help young girls at the BGCH to feel empowered and like they can make a difference in their community. The first major service project for our GRLZ 4 Change program was in conjunction with Project Hawaii, Inc. Project Hawaii works to provide homeless keiki on the Waianae Coast with food and other supplies. Our girls focused on asking for donations of hygiene products around the community. Club members and Aliamanu Middle School students helped donate through the week, but the girls knew that we could raise more by reaching out to others outside the club. The girls stationed themselves near Longs in the Salt Lake Shopping Center, explaining their mission to passing customers and asking for donations.
Courtney N. wrote about her experience at Longs: "Today we had an awesome time at GRLZ 4 Change. We are doing a hygiene drive and we went down by Longs and tried to raise money and hygiene products. We are raising this stuff for the homeless keiki along the Waianae Coast. I was happy I was helping the cause. I am also doing it tomorrow and I hope more people decide to donate. A lot of people donated, BUT, there were some people that just laughed and walked away. I can't wait till they do it again and we get to help."
The girls collected lots of supplies and raised $27 outside of Longs and used that money to buy more products from Longs to donate. In the end of it all, they had over 160 bottles of shampoo, bars of soap, and all sorts of other hygiene products to donate to Project Hawaii!
So, on Friday, the girls headed out to the Kapolei Shopping Center. There they presented Project Hawaii with the goods they had gathered, and then they helped to raise more money for the cause! A few of the girls that participated in the field trip wrote about their time in Kapolei:
"The purpose for the field trip was for people to donate to the homeless people. So what we did was wear the posters that said 'Donate to the homeless!' And we had a net for the people in the car to put the money in. We raised a lot of money so the homeless can EAT!" ~Sharlene T.
"Last Friday some Boys & Girls Club members and I went to Kapolei to collect money donations for the homeless keiki. A funny thing that happened was when some guy wanted to donate money to me but I couldn't grab it from his hand because it was a green light and he had to go, plus he was moving and so when the other girls tried getting it he threw it out of his car before he was about to turn left. Anyways, I had a lot of fun and it was a time I wouldn't want to miss." ~Carla T.
"On the field trip we collected money for charity. It was fun just watching everyone yell 'Donate!' Haha! I also liked the snacks they provided. Also, collecting all that money helped 1,000 kids. :) It was the bestest field trip I had this month--it was fun, funny and cool!" ~Esther S.
"The field trip was really fun. I loved the whole thing because I love yelling and I did a lot of that there to get the people in the cars attention. And I love the fact that I helped kids who really needed it. :) Plus, the kids must be really happy that we are doing this for them. And that's why I did it." ~Maria M.
Overall, I'm really excited about all of the hard work that Bri & Dani have put into this program, and I'm even more impressed with how much effort our awesome girls put into helping other youth in need on the island! Just think of how much each one of these young ladies can accomplish in just a few years when they are adults--the possibilities are inspiring!
~Natalie, Program Director
