I am truly blessed to serve our community as a member of the Rotary Club of Pearlridge (RCOP), as well as President-elect for 2024-2025.
On Saturday, April 20, 2024, the RCOP, Pearl City High School Interact Club and Highlands Intermediate Interact Club, and community volunteer friends, came together at Puuloa Springs Native Hawaiian Garden in Aiea/Pearl City as a part of the Honolulu City & County Annual Pearl Harbor Bike Path Clean-up.
Saturday was also the RCOP’s monthly clean-up, beautification, and planting and caring for trees and plants in the Puuloa Springs Native Hawaiian Garden which is located near Blaisdell Park and along the Pearl Harbor Bike Path between the bike path and historic Pearl Harbor shoreline. Teams of RCOP volunteers picked up rubbish along the bike path on Saturday and also during each monthly RCOP community service workday.
Led by current RCOP President and Past Hawaii District 5000 Governor Dick Mosko, and RCOP community service chair and Puuloa Springs Native Hawaiian Garden Project chair Lasar McCabe, the workday was an inspiring testament to the dedication, commitment, heart and soul, and special bond between our RCOP community service ohana and the thriving garden and Pearl Harbor landscape.
As we wrap up each Puuloa Springs workday, we all come together to listen to the inspirational words and thoughts via the Mana’o minute presented to volunteers by chair Lasar. The Mana’o minute lifts our spirits and guides our collective efforts to wholeheartedly care for our environment through the beauty of the Hawaiian culture and love for one another.
While enjoying refreshments and fellowship, we also had the opportunity to share our gratitude to the 2024 graduating seniors from the Pearl City High School Interact Club. For the past two years, this outstanding group of seniors and underclassmen have put their heart and soul into community service projects and fundraisers that have profoundly benefitted and impacted mankind here in Hawaii and around the world through their leadership and spirit of Rotary International’s “Service Above Self”.
The Pearl City High School Rotary Interact Club began under the guidance of advisor/teacher Dane Souza and an incredible group of juniors led by club President Teddy Sepulveda. The future looks bright as we also had an opportunity on Saturday to volunteer alongside a positive and energetic group of students representing the incoming 2024-2025 PCHS Interact Club President, Officers and club members.
The RCOP was also excited to learn on Saturday that a group of 2024 graduating PCHS Rotary Interact club seniors will continue to serve the community with the RCOP following graduation. We also discussed with them their interest in becoming RCOP members. Yay!
Our efforts to build upon cultivating the next generation of Hawaii Rotary District 5000 membership and leaders in our communities begins with our Rotary Club of Pearlridge introduction to Rotary through our annual Dictionary 5000 Literacy Project that sponsors and provides 800 free dictionaries to third grade students and their teachers in 14 public and private Pearl City and Aiea Elementary Schools.
RCOP efforts to support Aiea and Pearl City students continues through the RCOP Interact Youth Leadership Program currently thriving at Pearl City High School, Highlands Intermediate School, and Cross Academy School. All three schools are award winners and have been recognized for their successful leadership programs and fundraising projects here in Hawaii and nationally.
The future of Rotary and a better world in which to live in, I believe, begins with our youth. They will lead us into tomorrow. By providing them with world class mentorships and resources that they need to learn, excel, and creatively build leadership skills and relationships, the future of a healthy, peaceful, and humanitarian oriented planet will perpetuate the spirit of Rotary.
Service Above Self
Manalo!
Barry Villamil
2024-2025 President-Elect
Rotary Club of Pearlridge
Photos by Barry Villamil
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