HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0386.011 2022-2024 P I Council
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MB3 AUG 5 All 8: 03 Hokupa'a
P.O. Box 2655
H OKU- PAA Kamuela, HI 96743
Phone:(808) 345-5846
www.hokupaa.org
August 14', 2023
Greetings to Chair Kimball and to all of the Members of Hawai`i County Council,
I am writing in SUPPORT of Resolution No. 216-23.
Hokupa'a supports collaborative efforts that benefit young people in West Hawai`i,which in turn
benefits the entire community now and in the future. The Puakalehua Early Learning
Consortium's proposed `Celebrate `Ohana Festival' is one such partnership benefiting our
youngest keiki and their caregivers.
As we know,Early Learning/Early Childhood Education provides a strong foundation for future
learning and development, giving immediate and long-term benefits for keiki and our
communities as a whole. For example, Early Learning/Early Childhood Education prepares
children to be school-ready for kindergarten, which has a long-lasting impact on their future
education and development. In fact, more than 85%of brain development occurs from birth to
age 5. That is why it is so important to provide children with ample opportunities to develop
social, emotional, cognitive, and physical skills.
Your generous support of Puakalehua's `Celebrate `Ghana Festival' in West Hawai`i will allow
early learning professionals the opportunity to:
• Showcase their program(s)
• Recruit keiki to increase enrollment
• Recruit staff for workforce development
• Network with one another and the community
• Raise community awareness of early learning resources
• Educate the community about early childhood and the importance of early learning
I humbly ask the councilmembers to please SUPPORT Resolution No. 216-23.
Thank you for your consideration.
Warmly,
—77
Kamela T. Souza
Hokupa'a Program Coordinator
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