SERVICE PROJECTS

Bon Dance

Every year in the summertime, many of the Japanese churches/temples hold their annual Bon Dance. An event held to honor and pay respects to those who have passed. Our team offers our services to two of these Bon Dances those being the Haleiwa Shingon Mission and the Haleiwa Jodo Mission. Some services performed include setting up before the event, running concession stands (where all proceeds go to respective organizations), and breaking down and cleaning up at the end of the night.

For the Haleiwa Jodo Mission, our students can even assist in the releasing and later cleaning of lanterns on the shores. As a team, we bond over the celebration of all ancestors, although we may not necessarily be associated with the culture or people. The environment provides our team with an opportunity to experience one of the many wonders our community has to offer and get a taste of a rich culture that some of us might not have been able to experience otherwise.

Special Olympics

The Hawaii Special Olympics is hosted every summer; local athletes participate with the public cheering them on.  Our team volunteers through Castle and Cooke Hawaii, preparing and distributing packed lunches for participants and fellow volunteers. The packed lunches are prepared in a wide range of meals with options such as grilled cheese sandwiches, burgers, hotdogs, and more. By helping feed the hardworking keiki and adults at the event, our team can love and serve others. Preparing lunches may not seem like much, but volunteering at a non-robotics event allows our students to spread the FIRST/359 mission and have a great time doing it!

At the end of our shifts, we get to spend the rest of our day supporting the athletes representing our Waialua community.

KITV News Interview

The team had the opportunity to show the state how our students and mentors have been making a difference in the community. Our local news station KITV News visited the 359 facility and interviewed some of our members. Catalytic converter theft has been a rising issue, particularly in the past couple of months. Using our materials and machines, we were able to find a solution and help our community protect their vehicles. This project has helped our students design and create products that work to help improve our community. KITV News was interested in learning more about our project and allowed us to share one of our contributions to our community. We are glad our team can implement the things we are learning in our program to help find solutions to problems in the real world.

As of 2022, Catalytic Converter Theft has since hit a massive decline, leading to a decline in Shield Sales.