09
Game On!
‘A ha Pai‘ea Keiki
Sports Challenge
Francis Sakai-Kawada
UH Hilo
On Saturday August 25, 2012, many
university athletes and coaches, several
K-family volunteers, and the Vulcan Athletic Club came together to put on the
2012 ‘Aha Pai‘ea Keiki Sports Challenge.
This clinic drew in over 70 children from
the ages of 7-12 to participate in a sevenhour event, where they would immerse
themselves in a variety of sports.
The day broke down into two halves.
The first half consisted of a rotation of
volleyball, basketball, and cross-country. The second half consisted of soccer,
tennis, softball, and baseball. The keiki
learned the basics – from proper running
form to dribbling a basketball to fielding
grounders.
Many smiles were brought out throughout the day, as these children worked
hard and played harder. Many valuable
lessons were taught beyond sports fundamentals such as, the importance of
staying hydrated as well as developing
proper work ethic in anything you want
to excel in – whether it sports or academics.
The children were not the only ones
working hard throughout the event.
Circle K members from the University of
Hawaii at Hilo were dispersed as supervisors to each group and were given the
task of assisting their group in any way.
Tasks included keeping the group hydrated, fetching stray balls for the athletes,
demonstrating proper form in many of
the sports, and much more.
Although this event was very strenuous
to say the least, it was also very rewarding to teach the benefits of living healthy
and living life. Ke Ola Pono!
Cheer to the Finish Line:
Alive & Runing 5K
Jannette Alvarez
El Camino College
On the early morning of September 23, El Camino College
woke up ready to serve. We
volunteered at an event call
Alive and Running, a 5k walk
for awareness and prevention
of suicide. We were all excited
for this event, because we lie to
cheer and keep the walkers motivated, especially for this event.
At the event, we helped out
with registration and got to
meet many of the groups that
come out for this walk. Many of
the groups were formed by people who knew someone that
committed suicide and walked
in their memory; other groups
were formed by people who
deal with people trying to commit suicide like the SWAT team
and Fire Fighters.
After registration, we went to
cheer for the walkers. We outcheered the cheerleaders that
went. ^_^ It was very moving to
see so many people come out
and walk for this event. There
were many parents that came
with their children and many
people that came with their
dogs.
The most moving part was
when the walkers got to share
their stories, and the reasons
why they walked. It was a bittersweet event because there
were a lot of shared stories, but
it was a fun event. We even got
the chance to take pictures with
the firemen and a member of
the SWAT team.
We ended the event with a
big WE ARE PROUD OF YOU to
the event coordinator for all
their great work. It was a great
event, and even though we had
to wake up at 5am, we were all
very glad to have participated in
it.