On Saturday, November 20, Pearl City residents Yumi Laney and daughter Christina Laney-Wycheck led volunteers during the Annual Pearl City Neighborhood Food Drive to benefit the Hawaii Food Bank.
The mother and daughter team, representing Kahala Associates – Oahu’s premiere full-service luxury real estate brokerage firm, organized the volunteer Holiday food drive. This was the third year in a row that the Pearl City community and volunteers from Kahala Associates have partnered to benefit the Hawaii Food Bank.
"We just always found that the Hawaii Food Bank is the one that probably helps the most number of people at the most important time of their lives when they need food," said Yumi Laney of Kahala Associates. "We chose this drive because it's something that we can do actively and proactively. We're trying to encourage other neighborhoods to work with it because we found that this is the most that you can receive and most people are actually, "at heart" very generous."
For the past three years, close to 1500 pounds of canned goods and groceries have been collected through the Annual Pearl City Neighborhood Food Drive.
On Saturday, the group of volunteers collected 977 pounds of food!
The goal of the food drive is to provide for Oahu’s low-income families and children, elderly, homeless and unemployed. The method of food drive collection was created by Laney-Wycheck and is catching on in other Oahu neighborhoods.
"Last week we dropped off the bags with the flyers in Pearl City," said Laney Wycheck. "We explained to all the neighbors that were actually home what we're doing and if they wanted to participate they can just put the bags out the following Saturday. For people that weren't there, all the instructions were on the bag already, so we just hung them on their door."
"I've been in business for about 30 years in Real Estate and Christina has been working with me for the past five years. We're actually doing this because at one point in our lives, we were younger and in need of the food bank," added Laney.
Volunteers for Saturday's Holiday food drive also included Christina's husband Scooter, baby daughter Charlie and Yumi's husband Rick who served as van driver. Also helping out with dropping off the food drive collection bags (donated by Hard Rock Cafe) on Saturday, November 13, was Christina's cousin Allison, and family friend Bill.
Mahalo for the efforts of the Laney-Wycheck and Laney family volunteers and for the generosity of the Pearl City community for their support in filling the Hawaii Food Bank with much needed supplies for Hawaii's needy. Your efforts are truly appreciated!
Special Mahalo to Christina and Yumi for their leadership and huge hearts. You have once again made a difference in the lives of those who will not go hungry this Holiday season and beyond.
Photo by Barry Villamil | [email protected]
Annual Pearl City Neighborhood Food Drive volunteers, (left to right) Christina, Charlie, Rick and Yumi (volunteer Scooter not pictured).
Photo by Barry Villamil | [email protected]
Laney-Wycheck and Laney family volunteers pictured with a 977 pounds of food drive donations from the Annual Pearl City Neighborhood Food Drive on Saturday, November 20, 2010.
Photo by Barry Villamil | [email protected]
Baby Charlie pictured with mommy after a long day of collecting food donations in Pearl City.