Our keiki need us! The current fiscal challenges facing our nation continue to have a significant impact on Hawaii. The slowdown in our economy impacts us through increases in taxes and fees, reductions in public services, cuts in jobs and wages, and of course Furlough Fridays. Our local schools are forced to make dramatic changes in their budgets, resulting in deferred maintenance, deficiency in teaching resources, and the loss of educators. The end result? We are depriving our keiki, our Future.

We, the Hawaii Jaycees, as a civic leadership organization feel the need to support our keiki through a community effort – the Adopt-A-School Day project. Adopt-A-School Day is a statewide grassroots effort to establish an annual day of awareness and service to our Hawaii schools, similar to Make A Difference Day. Last year, we involved 31 groups to assist 37 schools in fulfilling their necessities, including beautifying their campus, implementing new school programs, offering career skills training, providing donations, and more. And we could not have done so without the support of our generous sponsors.

This year we want to invite your group to help us raise an even greater awareness in the community to create a bigger impact on our local schools. Our goal is to involve 100 community groups to serve the needs of 100 schools – public, private, and charter schools alike. Your generous contribution, no matter the size, will go a long way.

The Third Annual Jaycees Adopt-A-School Day will take place on Sunday, October 10, 2010. The Jaycee chapters will continue to support schools in their areas, and most importantly, will be serving as a catalyst to expand the scope and outreach of the Adopt-A-School Day statewide on all islands. We will handle the promotion and publicity of this truly unique effort to establish an annual day of service where we invest one day for our future. Your support will make this happen. On behalf of our keiki, thank you in advance for making this such a success!