HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0504.002 2022-2024RESOLUTION NO. 293-23 SUPPORT e"?r f
Aloha mai kakou Council Chair Kimball and all of the Member of Hawaii County Council.— �w
My name is Lehua Kaulukukui and I am the Chair of the Puakalehua Early Learning Consortium., r,
Our grass roots organization supports all areas of early learning in North and West Haw'iA;`
including Family and Child Interactive Programs (FCIL), Family In -Home child Care Provi'ers w
(FCC), Home Visitors, and Center -based. Preschool Programs. We also collaborate with t W' East
Hawai'i Early Learning Consortium in support of their early learning initiatives. Over the past 3
years, we hosted Early Learning Conferences where early learning professionals were able to gain
professional develpment credits. The average attendance at each of our Conferences was 150
participants.
Puakalehua Consortium is under the fiscal umbrella of Friends of the Future, a non-profit, 501(C)
(3)
This year, in lieu of a Early Learning Conference, we have chosen to host a "Celebrate'Ohana
Festival" on Saturday, December 9, 2023 at the -Old Kona Airport Main Events pavillion. The over-
arching goal of the event is to bring community awareness to the importance of quality early
childhood education programs which set the foundation for life-long learning and educational
success within our keiki. A secondary goal is to showcase our early learning providers and
community early learning resources where they can possibly recruit staff and/or keiki for their
programs.
This will be a free and open to the public event. A day of learning will include entertainment, food,
fun activities with prizes for keiki of all ages. A portion of the funds raised will be ear -marked for
an advertising campaign with a live broadcast from the event. On the half-hour, our Puakalehua
partners will have the opportunity to speak, on -air, about their programs and the importance of
early learning/early childhood education. Never before have early learning advocates gathered
under one roof to bring community awareness of early childhood education. This will be the first
of its kind.
Therefore, on behalf of the Puakalehua Consortium and the Puakalehua Steering Committee, we
MAHALO Rebecca Villegas for bringing our request and application to Resolution and I strongly
support Resolution No. 293-23 and humbly ask for the full Council support.
'0 wau no me ka ha'aha'a
Lehua Kaulukukui, Chair, Puakalehua Early Learning Consortium
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