Newsmaker
Monday, May 18, 1998
Name: Louise Funai
Age: 44
Education: UH-Manoa, BS; Hawaii Pacific University, MBA
Hobbies: Reading, spending time with two daughters and granddaughter
Growing up legally deaf from the measles imposed on Louise Funai a unique reality. For one thing, she had to endure a big, clunky hearing-aid box while romping on the school playground. Her parents raised her to never use the disability as an excuse. Linking hands to help
But when Funai, of Waialua, became a single parent raising two young girls, her reality began to crash. "It was tough." While in those toughest of young motherhood times, Funai made it her mission to help others.
"I had been there, I know," she said.
Funai is the president of Helping Hands Hawaii, a group that connects people in need with those who can help, and vice versa.
Few people know about Helping Hands, said Funai, who made it her priority to make the public aware.
"We provide an incredibly valuable service to the community, and we need their help to do that," she said. "If they want to volunteer, we'll help them. If they're in a crisis, we'll help them. If they need language translation, we'll help them."
Helping Hands focuses on six areas. Its Community Clearinghouse links donated goods to people who need them. "We have requests continually coming in," Funai said.
Two years ago, the group did a back-to-school campaign and had 3,000 requests for school supplies. This past year, they had 13,000 requests. "With a flat economy, people are going to be asking for help."
Helping Hands' Bilingual Access Line is Hawaii's only nonprofit language interpretation service, translating 19 primary languages and 90 others. "If someone who doesn't speak English needs to go to the doctor, we can help, or if private businesses need documents translated, we can do it," she said.
The group's Voluntary Action Center (536-5006) gets more than 700 organizations in touch with people who want to volunteer, based on their interests and experience.
Its Retired Senior Volunteer Programs (RSVP) take older adults and help them find volunteer opportunities. "As the Baby Boomers begin to retire, we hope to be a good resource for them."
The program for Seniors Actively Volunteering in Education (SAVE) trains older adults as tutors and teaching assistants to help children with literacy problems. "This is really important in Hawaii, where children continue to score lower literacy scores," Funai said.
And the group's Crisis Response System offers people in crisis a 24-hour phone line for counseling help. Callers include people threatening suicide and parents who can't control their anger with children.
"My disability drew me to service because I know life is hard," Funai said. "But I decided I could make a difference."
By Lori Tighe, Star-Bulletin
