Contact: Shawn Nakamoto, APR
SUN Communications
(808) 741-2267
suncommpr@gmail.com

LOCAL PHOTOGRAPHERS SELECT HUGS AS ITS 2010 PARTNER
ProjectFocus Hawaii helps siblings of seriously ill children learn
photography skills while building self-esteem

HONOLULU—ProjectFocus Hawai’i, a photography internship for at-risk children and youth, has selected HUGS (Help, Understanding & Group Support) as their 2010 partner.  This year’s theme is “Kindred Spirits” and over the next 12 weeks, ProjectFocus Hawai’i will work with 14 children from HUGS who have seriously ill siblings to foster self-esteem through the art of photography.

Founded in 1982, HUGS was the brainchild of a small group of volunteers from Unity Church in Honolulu who recognized the many challenges and stressors that families with seriously ill children face and dedicated themselves to establishing an agency that would provide support and compassion to help keep these families together.  The mission of HUGS is to improve the quality of life for families who face the emotional and financial hardships of caring for a seriously ill child.  The HUGS agency serves families with children, birth to age 21, who have been diagnosed with any illness, disease or condition that could potentially rob these young people of their lives.

According to Donna Witsell, executive director for HUGS, “The impact on a sibling when a child is diagnosed with a life-threatening illness can be tremendous.  Because so much attention needs to be directed to the sick child, siblings can often experience feelings of jealousy, resentment, fear, neglect and anger,” said Donna Witsell, executive director of HUGS.  “One of the unique things about HUGS is we focus on the entire family. Siblings and sibling issues take up a large percentage of our resources – often, to a larger degree than with our ill children. Therefore, we provide a support network for siblings so that they communicate openly about their feelings and interact with other children going through a similar situation.”

“When a child is seriously ill, it affects everyone in their family.  HUGS cares for the entire family through programs that provide support for parents and siblings of seriously ill children,” said Laurie Callies, co-founder of ProjectFocus Hawai’i.”  “We selected ‘Kindred Spirits’ as our theme this year because it recognizes the important role siblings play when their brother or sister is ill.  Many of these children, while trying to be supportive, are scared for their sibling and are struggling to deal with their own emotions and need for support.  We hope our internship will provide these children with a creative outlet for expressing their love and concern for their family.”

ProjectFocus Hawai’i co-founders Laurie Callies and Lisa Uesugi, both professional photographers and former teachers, start off the internship photographing each child.  The children are then taught basic photography skills utilizing a medium format camera and are asked to photograph someone special in their life.  Each young photographer writes a personal statement to accompany their best photograph which is paired with their own photograph and featured in a public exhibit at a variety of venues including Macy’s Ala Moana and Honolulu Hale.  This year’s internship will have a slightly different twist:  the children will be asked to photograph their ill brother or sister for their photography assignment.

“We are so grateful that Project Focus has selected HUGS siblings for this year’s photography internship,” said Witsell.  “Because of the overwhelming emotional stress that many of these kids are experiencing at home, this program will definitely be a positive outlet for expressing their feelings and building their self esteem,” she added.

ProjectFocus Hawai’i is a non-profit organization whose mission is to enrich the lives of children through the use of photography and to use this medium as a vehicle for enhancing self-esteem, self-awareness, and self-reflection. Independently funded through monetary and in-kind donations made by foundations as well as community and business leaders, a few of this year’s supporters include Macy’s Foundation/Macy’sWest; Na Lei Aloha Foundation; Blair Parry-Okeden; Long & Associates, AIA, Inc.; FUJIFILM Hawai’i; and Alan Wong’s Pineapple Room.  For more information on sponsorship opportunities with ProjectFocus Hawai’i, contact Laurie Callies at (808) 224-5995.

Visit ProjectFocusHawaii.com for details about the program.   To learn more about HUGS visit www.hugslove.org.

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ProjectFocus Hawaii
Laurie Callies, 808-224-5995
Lisa Uesugi, 808-382-8065

HUGS
Donna Witsell, 808-732-4846

In less than 60 seconds your vote for ProjectFocus Hawaii (PFH)could impact the life of a child.  Pepsi is giving away $1.3M a month for one year to people, businesses and non-profits that are doing good in their communities!  The ideas with the most votes win!

Your vote – and helping spread the word through your networking groups – could help PFH win a $25,000 grant.  Our 2010 beneficiary, HUGS (http://www.hugslove.org/), will be the recipient of these funds.  HUGS provides critical services to families of seriously ill children.

Your can vote once a day through April 30th!

The exhibit is now up at Kahala Mall near Macy’s. It has also been extended until September 26th.

Let us know what you think!

The Recap:
The kids got there nice and early, eager to start. Mary Scott Lau took them into the “Green Room” where they got last minute instructions and did more media training practice. Here is Devron perfecting his handshake.

Devron is now ready to meet the crowd.

The kids looked and felt confident in their new clothes. They got into position, next to their photographs.

Isaiah and his cousin Joshlyn

Dezandria and her mother

Sean Tiwanak and his crew entertained the crowd all night.

It got crowded really quick. At the height of the event, it was 300 strong. The kids were poised and super all night long.

Jane talking to many, many guests.

Channel 8 came to see the show.

KHNL talking to Laurie.

Wally Amos kicked off the program with a message of positive thinking.

Dezandria spoke on the power of resilience.

Then it was Jane’s turn. She did a wonderful job.

CEO of Hale Kipa, Punky Pletan Cross shared some very touching and inspiring words.

Then Deena Nichols of Macy’s surprised each participant with a $100 gift card to go shopping. They are such wonderful people!

The kids were so surprised and so happy!

Our glorious interns.

We couldn’t have done it without them!

The participants received gifts from us as well!

What a wonderful event–a night we won’t soon forget. We would like to thank everyone for their support and love throughout. Stay tuned for the gallery of images as well as lots of candids from the event. Thank you also to Steve (Sunny Productions), Kate Ryan and Geralyn (Hokulii Images) for photographing the event.

The group shot!