How To Give (and Receive) Big Island Holiday Assistance This Season

**Please find our updated list for 2022 HERE.**

It’s the most wonderful time of the year — a time for giving and receiving. But not everyone gets to take part in holiday traditions, especially in a year when a pandemic has created so many hardships. Thanks to local Big Island organizations and community groups, there are quite a few programs that help to put a small on the face of our community members, whether with a full belly, a shiny new toy, or hygiene items to help them get through the day. Whether you’re in need of Big Island holiday assistance or would like to offer some much-needed help, these holiday programs can help. Please note that many deadlines are coming up very quickly! Know about a program not mentioned on this list? Please let us know so that we can add it! 

USPS Operation Santa Comes to Hawaii

Here’s a fun (and new!) way to spread a little cheer to the keiki in your life. Though 2020 has been a dumpster fire of a year, at least it marks the first year that Hawaii’s keiki can participate in the USPS’s Operation Santa program. This program helps kids in need get “adopted” by sponsors by writing a letter to Santa. Letters must be mailed by December 15 — letters must be stamped and addressed correctly (a great learning opportunity!) with a return address, and mailed to the USPS Operation Santa address: Santa Claus, 123 Elf Road, North Pole 88888. Letters should include specific wishes, including sizes, styles, colors, titles, and names.

Adopters/Santa stand ins can visit the program website to find children to sponsor, with the website allowing visitors to filter by state. That said, there are a lot of eager adopters, and they tend to run out of adoptees each day! That’s so wonderful, that they have so much support, so consider some of the other great local programs listed below to donate your dollars to.

Project Hawai’i Helps Hawaii’i’s Homeless Keiki with Big Island Holiday Assistance

When it comes to helping Hawaii’s homeless children, Project Hawai’i is one of the most prolific organizations in the state, serving keiki on Oahu, Big Island, and Maui. There are a few ways to help support their programs, which currently are focused on making sure homeless children can have a happy and healthy holidays. 

• Shop for Our Cause: Find a marketplace of partners on the Project Hawai’i webpage, all of whom donate a portion of their sales to the PH programs. The marketplace runs through December 15, and includes a variety of wonderful vendors.
• Christmas Wish Program: There are a variety of ways to help keiki for the holidays, including a toy drop off program, sponsor-a-keiki adoption options, and teen adoption programs (as a former case manager, I know how often teens can be left out of programs like these – please consider sponsoring a teen). There are also options for company sponsorships including their fill a stocking program and feed a family holiday meal program.
• Big Island Keep Our Keiki Clean and Healthy: This year PH has a goal of providing 127 hygiene bags to Big Island families. They are looking for donations (must be received by December 17) of hygiene products. They can be mailed or dropped off at a variety of locations across the island — visit their website for more information and to sign up for the items that you’ll donate.

Gifts From Gays to Make Someone’s Day

Hawaii Island LGBTQ+ Pride is gathering new and unopened gifts and gift certificates to donate to the children and young adults of the East Hawaii Guidance Family Center (they provide behavioral health services to children ages 3-20). They are emphasizing hyperlocal shopping in East Hawaii and have a few partners they are working with. You can also make a monetary donation. 

Have an Eco-Friendly Christmas with the Puna Toy Exchange

The Puna Toy Exchange is a great way to help keep toys out of the landfill and give new life and love to gently used toys and books. Make sure that everything is clean, gently used, unbroken toys, books, and games. The toy exchange — which will have meticulous safety procedures (explained on their Facebook page) will happen on December 19 from 9 am to 12 pm. Drop off donations for the event will be accepted through December 16 at the Pahoa Smoothie Shack (15-2891 Pahoa Village Rd).

Help Big Island Giving Tree with Big Island Holiday Assistance at Parker Ranch Center

The annual Christmas Light Parade in Waimea is cancelled this year thanks to COVID, so they’re bringing the fun to a virtual space near you. This event is usually a big fundraiser for Big Island Giving Tree, so instead of losing that all-important giving element, they’ve moved the Giving Tree concept to Parker Center. Donors can visit the Waimea Wish Booth at the food court every Saturday in November and December and drop off your donation of a Foodland/Healthways gift card and be entered to win a prize drawing for yourself! Learn more about how to participate here.

Kona Commons Craft Fair Benefiting Make a Wish

The monthly Kona Commons Craft Fair is coming up on Saturday, December 18 from 9:30 am to 4:30 pm. Local artists will be selling gifts, crafts, art, and food. The event will benefit Make a Wish Hawaii, and it’s a great way to do some last minute local shopping all in one spot! 

Coldwell Banker Hosts Keauhou Shopping Center Giving Tree

Coldwell Banker Island Properties’ Keauhou office is hosting a Giving Tree to collect toys for keiki in Kailua-Kona.⁠ The Giving Tree features Christmas gift wish tags collected from boys and girls from as young as six months or nearing the end of high school. Each tag lists three gift wishes of a child/teen that participants can choose from.⁠ A total of 65 keiki that are in need of a little Christmas magic this year.⁠

⁠The Christmas wish tags can be picked up from the Giving Tree at tree at Coldwell Banker Island Properties’ Keauhou office in the Keauhou Shopping Center through December 16. Organizers ask that only new, unwrapped gifts be delivered no later than Dec. 16.⁠ Monetary donations are also being accepted to purchase unclaimed gifts or something extra special for the families that are in need this year.⁠ For more information, call (808) 331-1300.⁠

---

Featured image by Any Lane from Pexels.

About Post Author