Puakea Foundation of Hawaii, Inc » News http://www.puakea.org Perpetuating Pacific Island Canoe Culture Mon, 09 Jan 2012 21:22:00 +0000 en hourly 1 Perpetuating Pacific Island Canoe Culture Puakea Foundation of Hawaii, Inc no Perpetuating Pacific Island Canoe Culture Puakea Foundation of Hawaii, Inc » News http://www.puakea.org/wp-content/plugins/powerpress/rss_default.jpg http://www.puakea.org/category/news/ Year in Review: 2011 http://www.puakea.org/2012/01/08/year-in-review-2011/ http://www.puakea.org/2012/01/08/year-in-review-2011/#comments Mon, 09 Jan 2012 07:48:36 +0000 patpuakea http://www.puakea.org/?p=409 Continue reading →]]> We hope everyone had a great holiday season and are all looking forward to 2012!

check to puakea from American SavingsJanuary:
It was a good and not so good month for us. Not so good because we had a break-in at Heeia State Park and lost many of our tools. However the good thing was when the word got out (big mahalo to Alana for this) it gave us the opportunity to meet many wonderful people from near and afar. The outpouring from everyone was just amazing. American Savings Bank started it off with a $5,000 donation, we canʼt thank all of you enough for your kokua. Also in January we were privileged to be awarded a grant from the Hawaii Tourism Authority (HTA). With this we were able to bring the culture of the canoe to more people and to initiate an apprenticeship program. Noe did a wonderful job for us.

February:
The Na Kamalei Nalei OʼKeiki visited us at Heeia State Park. They were from ages 3 to 5 years and were accompanied by their parents. It is always fun to watch the little ones look and feel the canoes. The children love it and the parents had an opportunity to learn about the culture.

puakea student paddle makersMarch:
Uncle Bobby had his annual paddle workshop (coming again in February 2012!) and we had 4 young men who thoroughly enjoyed learning the use of all the tools. We also had a display at the Kualoa Park annual canoe festival and the Kamehameha School Extension program came to Heeia State Park to learn from him about the work he does on the canoes.

April:
This month brought the beginning of paddling season. Uncle Bobby was there to help out and watch his grandchildren paddle. We also had a visit to our Learning Center at Heeia State Park from Halau Ku Mana Charter School. Ricky, Mark, Gerry, and Uncle Bobby were there to show them how things are done today and yesterday. We also had our first Open House/Canoe Workshop and annual meeting in April. It was a great success with Bill Aila and his wife and many members of the paddling community and other members of the community in attendance.

uncle bobby puakea and dave chunMay:
Uncle Bobby started a new project with the Kahana Valley Community. He is repairing their canoe named Ululani and teaching the young people of Kahana how to repair and care for it. Ricky and Gerry from our foundation are there whenever possible. We had a visit from a gentleman from the Smithsonian Institute (American History Museum) and he and Uncle Bobby had a chance to talk story at our Learning Center located at Heeia State Park. We were able to be at the Battle of the Paddle this year. Dave Chun sponsored Puakea Foundation shirts and the donations from them went to the foundation. And we have a canoe trailer. Yeaaa!

June and July:
We had the opportunity to have a 10 day paddle making program for the Y 2 Y group from Waimanalo. This afforded the youth that came a chance to learn not only about the canoe culture but also how to work with the different types of wood and tools needed to do the job. During the Nanakuli race Honolulu Pearls canoe became damaged and is now at our Learning Center waiting to be repaired.

noe with blind paddlerAugust and September:
This was a time we were busy preparing for our trip to Kailua-Kona for the Liliuokalani Race. We went there to promote our foundation and to support a group of blind paddlers belonging to Makapo Canoe Club out of Newport Acquatic Center in California. The foundation with Uncle Bobby, Alana, Ricky and Noe put on an introduction to paddle making for them and the youth from NAC one evening at our hotel. It was a wonderful experience watching them listen and feel the different stages of paddle making. They learned about the dryland forest and indigenous plants of Hawaii. Also while in Kailua-Kona Uncle Bobby helped the blind paddlers rig the koa canoe for the races. Kamehameha CC was generous enough to bring the Halani (Uncle Bobbyʼs 1st canoe out of a log) from Hilo for them to use. We had a display in the King Kamehameha Hotel and through this we met and talked with people from all over the world about our canoe culture. It was a weekend we will all cherish. Oh Yes, Uncle Bobby was in the Hana Hou Magazine also. (Pg 20)

uncle bobby helping punahou student maya make a paddleOctober:
This month we attended and put on a display at a fundraiser for the Kamakou Immersion School at Kokokahi YWCA in Kaneohe. Uncle Bobby also started a 5 day class for a Punahou student who had to make a paddle for a class project. Maya did an excellent job and made a beautiful paddle using all the machines required for the job.

November:
Uncle Bobby was put in jail for MDS and thanks to a lot of good friends we were able to bail him out. Mahalo to all of you for your generosity.

ala wai elementary students carving a koa canoeDecember:
We had our annual visit from the Ala Wai Elementary School 5th graders (68 students). It is always a pleasure to have them with us. They get a chance to learn the culture and swing an adze. They also get a tour of the park and learn its history. Itʼs alway a fun day for them as well as a learning experience. We also started a new session with the Y 2 Y this month.

In the meantime Uncle Bobby has been working on Hanalei CC koa canoe and it is coming along nicely. It has been a busy year. We are very fortunate to have a wonderful Board of Directors and great supporters.

We would like to say a big Mahalo to Roxanne Darling of Bare Feet Studios for our wonderful website, to the Hawaiian Tourism Authority, the sponsors of the Battle of the Paddle event, Alan Nishimura for our trailer, Sams Club, American Savings and all the wonderful people who supported us this year.

Please come and join us anytime at our site at Heeia State Park. Everyone is welcome and we would like to encourage anyone who wants to learn about building and repairing koa canoes to come and join us. If you are interested in becoming an apprentice please contact us.

Mahalo and Hauʻoli Makahiki Hou from all of us at the Puakea Foundation

]]> http://www.puakea.org/2012/01/08/year-in-review-2011/feed/ 0 Help Uncle Bobby Raise Funds for MDA http://www.puakea.org/2011/11/14/help-uncle-bobby-raise-funds-for-mda/ http://www.puakea.org/2011/11/14/help-uncle-bobby-raise-funds-for-mda/#comments Tue, 15 Nov 2011 08:21:45 +0000 Roxanne http://www.puakea.org/?p=394 Continue reading →]]> We all know how much Uncle Bobby gives of his time and attention to our community – now he is asking for your support in raising funds for the Muscular Dystrophy Association. He will be “in jail” for MDA and only released if he meets his funds-raising goal of $2000? Can you contribute? It is tax-deductible and is a lovely way to say Mahalo to Uncle Bobby for all that he does.

Please visit his Official MDA Fund-Raising page here.

UPDATE: We have pictures from Uncle Bobby’s time in jail. We still have time to help him meet his fund-raising goal!

mda-logo PB170118 PB170127 PB170135 PB170137 ]]> http://www.puakea.org/2011/11/14/help-uncle-bobby-raise-funds-for-mda/feed/ 0 Kialoa Battle of the Paddles Supports Puakea http://www.puakea.org/2011/05/01/kialoa-battle-of-the-paddles-supports-puakea/ http://www.puakea.org/2011/05/01/kialoa-battle-of-the-paddles-supports-puakea/#comments Mon, 02 May 2011 04:13:49 +0000 Roxanne http://www.puakea.org/?p=312 Continue reading →]]> puakea tshirtKialoa Paddles is celebrating their 20th anniversary with a special event at their Battle of the Paddle Standup Race at Duke Kahanamoku Beach May 14-15 and they are sharing their success with the Puakea Foundation of Hawaii, Inc. A special welcoming party and aloha concert for competitors will be hosted by Quiksilver Waterman Collection on Friday evening, May 13, featuring local musicians. Event proceeds will directly benefit the Hawaiian Community.

At this year’s Battle of the Paddle Hawaii stand-up paddle race, Kialoa Paddles, Hinano Life (clothing) and Paddle Surf Hawaii, will be having a fundraiser at their booth.

Special t-shirts have been created. As goods cannot be sold on Duke Kahanamoku Beach, we will be giving the shirts away for free alongside the fundraising. They will have laptops at the beach where participants can donate to the foundation via the website. All money collected will go to the Puakea Foundation.

Please plan to join us and get your special edition t-shirt! Itʻs gorgeous and only available for a short time. Learn more and register for the event here. If you can’t make it, it will be broadcast live on Oceanic SURF Channel 250 and 1250HD. There will be keiki races and vendors and SO much going on!

Please show your support by joining us live and by “liking” the Kialoa Paddles Facebook page.

If you cannot attend, you can still get one of these awesome t-shirts by joining the foundation or renewing your membership!

It’s just $25 plus $5 for shipping and handling. Choose your member type and size, enter your email, and click PayNow to get yours!

T-shirts are now SOLD OUT! Mahalo to everyone who purchased one and thank you for your support of the Puakea Foundation.

]]> http://www.puakea.org/2011/05/01/kialoa-battle-of-the-paddles-supports-puakea/feed/ 0 Save with Sam’s Club – A Puakea Supporter http://www.puakea.org/2011/05/01/save-with-sams-club-a-puakea-supporter/ http://www.puakea.org/2011/05/01/save-with-sams-club-a-puakea-supporter/#comments Mon, 02 May 2011 03:46:40 +0000 Roxanne http://www.puakea.org/?p=303 Continue reading →]]> Sams-Club-LogoSam’s Club generously donated food for our Annual Meeting – Mahalo nui! Now you can also save with this special membership offer from Sam’s Club. Just sign up for a “year’s worth of savings” and receive a $25 Gift Card for Plus and Business memberships or a $10 Gift Card for an Advantage Membership.

Just download and print this special coupon form that is flagged for the Puakea Foundation of Hawaii, Inc. (The coupon says “employee” but is good for all of our ʻohana.)

This offer is good until July 31, 2011.

]]> http://www.puakea.org/2011/05/01/save-with-sams-club-a-puakea-supporter/feed/ 0 Custom Paddle Presented to American Savings Bank http://www.puakea.org/2011/05/01/custom-paddle-presented-to-american-savings-bank/ http://www.puakea.org/2011/05/01/custom-paddle-presented-to-american-savings-bank/#comments Mon, 02 May 2011 00:41:34 +0000 Roxanne http://www.puakea.org/?p=298 Continue reading →]]> photo of Uncle Bobby and American Savings Bank representativeYou’ve probably been reading about the theft of thousands of dollars worth of tools from the shed at Heeia Park a few months ago. Shortly after it was announced, American Savings Bank came forward and pledged a very generous sum of $5000 to the Puakea Foundation.

In the spirit of spreading the Aloha and the Mahalo, Uncle Bobby made a custom paddle for ASB and presented it to them recently at the Annual Meeting of the Foundation.

Everyone at the Puakea Foundation continues to be very grateful for the generous support and recognition bestowed on Uncle Bobby from across the community. Please do stop by Heeʻia Park and see the work of restoring old Hawaiian koa canoes in action and spend some time talk story with UB.

]]> http://www.puakea.org/2011/05/01/custom-paddle-presented-to-american-savings-bank/feed/ 0 Please Join Us! 2011 Annual Meeting http://www.puakea.org/2011/03/24/please-join-us-2011-annual-meeting/ http://www.puakea.org/2011/03/24/please-join-us-2011-annual-meeting/#comments Fri, 25 Mar 2011 04:54:28 +0000 Roxanne http://www.puakea.org/?p=279 Continue reading →]]> photo of canoe

The Puakea Foundation would like to invite you to attend our Canoe Workshop, a hands-on demonstration, and our Annual Meeting on April 9, 2011

Date: Saturday, April 9, 2011
Location: Puakea Foundation Learning Center Heeia State Park, Kaneohe, HI
Time: 10am – 3:30pm
Annual meeting to follow: 4pm – 6pm

The day begins with a blessing at 10 am followed by hands-on demonstrations throughout the day on canoe building and repair, paddle making, and the art of canoeing. There will be activities for children and adults as well as teaching materials provided for other educators. We’ll have lunch at 12 noon. We hope you will join us and consider becoming a member of the Puakea Foundation to learn about our many exciting upcoming events!

Come and share your knowledge and historical information on the canoes of the past and future with everyone! All ages are welcome.

hta logoMahalo to the Hawaii Tourism Authority for their funding and support! This all day educational event is sponsored in part by the Kukūlu Ola Living Hawaiian Culture program and is administered in part by the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement.

]]> http://www.puakea.org/2011/03/24/please-join-us-2011-annual-meeting/feed/ 1 Mahalo Nui to American Savings Bank! http://www.puakea.org/2011/01/27/mahalo-nui-to-american-savings-bank/ http://www.puakea.org/2011/01/27/mahalo-nui-to-american-savings-bank/#comments Fri, 28 Jan 2011 04:18:52 +0000 Roxanne http://www.puakea.org/?p=259 Continue reading →]]>
American Savings Bank presenting Uncle Bobby with $5000 to help replace his stolen tools.

American Savings Bank presenting Uncle Bobby with $5000 to help replace his stolen tools.

The first day the word went out about the theft of thousands of dollars’ worth of tools from Uncle Bobby, one of the first calls to come in was from American Savings Bank. They donated $5,000 to the Foundation! Featured here with Uncle Bobby are Laurie Komatsu and Patti Cristobal.

We are so incredibly grateful for their support – to give so generously without asking! That is warm aloha and it will bless all of the canoes and paddles that carry the spirt of Polynesian canoe canoe around the world.

]]> http://www.puakea.org/2011/01/27/mahalo-nui-to-american-savings-bank/feed/ 0 Mahalo Nui from Uncle Bobby http://www.puakea.org/2011/01/18/mahalo-nui-from-uncle-bobby/ http://www.puakea.org/2011/01/18/mahalo-nui-from-uncle-bobby/#comments Tue, 18 Jan 2011 23:57:40 +0000 Roxanne http://www.puakea.org/?p=240 Everyone at the foundation is so grateful for all of the support and attention regarding the theft of his tools. He recorded this video and we now have a YouTube Channel! More to come this year.

]]> http://www.puakea.org/2011/01/18/mahalo-nui-from-uncle-bobby/feed/ 0 Valuable Tools Stolen from Uncle Bobby http://www.puakea.org/2011/01/13/valuable-tools-stolen-from-uncle-bobby/ http://www.puakea.org/2011/01/13/valuable-tools-stolen-from-uncle-bobby/#comments Thu, 13 Jan 2011 20:41:29 +0000 Roxanne http://www.puakea.org/?p=189 Continue reading →]]> Uncle Bobby teaching a young boy woodworking skillsA week ago someone(s) broke into the container at Heʻeia Park where Uncle Bobby stores the tools he uses to repair Hawaiian canoes and give workshops to both keiki and adults in the arts of woodworking and Polynesian canoe culture. We are very grateful to the Star Advertiser who featured this story on the home page of their online edition!

The support is rolling in and we wanted to let all of you know how grateful we are to each and everyone of you! We will be updating this page as more news comes in. Please take a moment to join our email list (at right) so we can include you in our ocean and canoe-loving ʻohana! We have a “Make Your Own Paddle” workshop coming soon in March, 2011 too.

Alana Burrows, Volunteer Board Member will be on the Mike Buck Show today at 6:07 pm; KHVH Radio 830 AM.

Listen to the Mike Buck radio interview with Puakea Foundation Board Member Alana Burrows here; sorry the introduction was not recorded! (13:40)

UPDATE: Uncle Bobby was on KHNL! Here is a direct link to the video with Uncle Bobby.

Read the full details of the Star Advertiser article by Dan Nakaso.

How to Make a Donation
* You can donate safe and secure online via PayPal; please see our Donate page for full information about how your donation is fully tax-deductible.

Here are some of the contributors who have pledged their kokua, both cash and tools:
American Savings Bank
Bill Hojnacki, Hawaii
Kent Kroeger, Seattle WA
Dan Diffenderfer
Charlie Loiselle
Reivan Zeleznik, Stamford, CT: pledged $1000 if we can raise $2000 in matching funds
John Foti, Kailua, HI
Ann Dewey, Kailua, HI
Malia Kamisugi, Honolulu, HI
Chris Keahi, Johnston, IA
Lanakila Alexander, Holly Springs, NC
Lanikai Canoe Club, Kailua, HI
Shepherd Brown, Belmont, CA
Paul Chung, Redondo Beach, CA
David Shoemaker, San Diego, CA
Matt Kaeo Caires, West Hills, CA
Emily Hawkins, Kailua, HI
Lynda Murakami, Honolulu, HI
Sharon Ziegler, Papaikou, HI
Mr. Kaneshiro, Hawaii
Mr. Sanchez, Hawaii
Mr. Roger Lau, Hawaii
Jane Lipp, Kailua, HI

]]> http://www.puakea.org/2011/01/13/valuable-tools-stolen-from-uncle-bobby/feed/ 5 heeia,keiki,news coverage,stolen,support,theft,tools A week ago someone(s) broke into the container at Heʻeia Park where Uncle Bobby stores the tools he uses to repair Hawaiian canoes and give workshops to both keiki and adults in the arts of woodworking and Polynesian canoe culture. A week ago someone(s) broke into the container at Heʻeia Park where Uncle Bobby stores the tools he uses to repair Hawaiian canoes and give workshops to both keiki and adults in the arts of woodworking and Polynesian canoe culture. We are very grateful to the Puakea Foundation of Hawaii, Inc no 13:40 Annual Meeting April 9th & Canoe Workshop http://www.puakea.org/2011/01/10/annual-meeting-april-9th-canoe-workshop/ http://www.puakea.org/2011/01/10/annual-meeting-april-9th-canoe-workshop/#comments Tue, 11 Jan 2011 03:49:48 +0000 Roxanne http://www.puakea.org/?p=217 Continue reading →]]> You are invited to attend our

CANOE WORKSHOP AND HANDS ON DEMONSTRATION
10 am til 3:30 pm
Heʻeia State Park
Google Map
Learn about the apprenticeship program and see how Uncle Bobby takes the wounded old koa canoes and fixes their pukas! Several “paddles in the making” will also be on hand so you can see the process. Plus learn how Uncle Bobby travels to the koa forest on the Big Island leading youth groups to understand about the makings of a canoe from the very beginning.

ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING
April 9th
4 pm – 6 pm
Heʻeia State Park
Learn about the work of the foundation and meet our board members and volunteers!

Both events are free and open to the community. We hope you will join us and bring the whole family!


View Larger Map

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