By Dennis Oda, Star-Bulletin
Volunteer Bobby Nunies takes some of the food he
collected earlier into the Community Clearinghouse.
These elves
work all
year long
Community Clearinghouse provides
By Pat Gee
Hawaii's needy with everything from
food to furniture -- during the holidays
and every day of the year
Star-BulletinSanta's workshop is usually depicted as a warm and fuzzy fantasy land of gingerbread and candy canes, where cheerful elves churn out spanking new items for infinite gift lists.
Closer to reality is the Community Clearinghouse, a dilapidated warehouse whose green paint has been blistered by the sun, but where the spirit of its volunteers is as dedicated as the hard-working elves.
The items coming out of the Clearinghouse to meet the thousands of requests from people in need are far from new, but they will be just as cherished.
Directing the die-hard "elves" is Mariellen Byrnes-Jones of Kalihi Valley. This is her 13th year as director of the Helping Hands Hawaii program, funded by Aloha United Way.
Building 914 at the Kapalama Military Reservation off Sand Island Access Road has been somewhat of a Santa's workshop for the last six years. Every bit of its 6,000 square feet is crammed to the rain-leaking ceiling with donated items being stored or renovated. Refrigerators stand like sentinels along the walkway to the entrance, barely visible between a logjam of mattresses and a mishmash of furniture.
But Byrnes-Jones is "addicted to the place" in spite of the working conditions: "It's cluttered, it's crowded, it's hot; it's termite-infested.
By Dennis Oda, Star-Bulletin
On the Community Clearinghouse loading dock, Mariellen
Byrnes-Jones, director of Helping Hands Hawaii program,
greets her pet dog, Rascal.
"It's hard and frustrating to work under these conditions. And there's no space. It's like shoveling (sand) against the tide" to keep finding room for donations, cleaning or repairing them, and distributing them, she said."But it feels really good to help other people. And I'm surrounded by volunteers who really care, who really enjoy what they're doing ... They know they're making a difference."
Some of the volunteers have been working at the Clearinghouse year-round for 10 to 20 years, not just during the peak holiday season.
Ernestine "Aunty Ernie" Bray of Pearl City started volunteering at the Clearinghouse 14 years ago and was made one of the few paid full-time workers last November. She coordinates the recruitment of volunteers, trains them and is responsible for public education. The Clearinghouse fills about 200,000 requests alone during the holiday season, from October through December, she said. Normally, it gets 250-300 requests a day for help.
Bray started out sorting toys at the Clearinghouse, selecting the assignment because it was "brainless ... fun," and the toys brought back happy childhood memories. Bray volunteers because, she said, "It's my turn to give back."
About 20 years ago, "I had become homeless" and she and her children were taken in by friends.
"I had been prejudiced against hippies, military people. But then some individuals scraped together a few dollars to feed my children. I'm a local -- they were haoles and blacks. They became my brothers, and it opened my eyes," Bray said.
Jean Jackson of Honolulu has been volunteering with the Clearinghouse since its inception. She helped write the original grant request in 1976, and has "watched it grow and grow." At age 85, she spends three full days a week working with the 625 agencies requesting help and, "I'm paid with the satisfaction of doing what I do."
"So many people have such desperate needs, no money and couldn't get things any other way," Jackson said. "We have waiting lists for virtually everything. We can't anywhere near meet the demand for things requested."
But the Clearinghouse is the only place she knows of that doesn't require money.
"We never sell anything. We give them away," she added.
By Dennis Oda, Star-Bulletin
Volunteers Deedee Kuhia, left, John Famuina and Niko
Laumatia sort through the food at the Community Clearinghouse.
The number of regular volunteers -- about 275 -- increases by about 100 during the holiday season because people "make that extra effort at Christmas. It's not that they lose interest, but they can't afford to give their time during the rest of the year. They may not be able to give monetarily, but by giving their time, they, too, can share in the Christmas spirit," Jackson said.Warren Wegesend, Sr., a Matson longshoreman from Waianae, has put in about 20 hours a week doing pick-ups and deliveries the past 10 years, and doubles that time during the Christmas season.
"I enjoy doing it to help other people, to see them get the things they need," he said.
Wegesend knows how much it means for the people helped by the Clearinghouse because "when we were small kids -- I came from a family of eight -- we had a hard time."
The Star-Bulletin's Good Neighbor Fund drive begins today.
A story of those who need a helping hand will run daily throughout the holidays. The names of the fund donors also will be published.
Checks should be sent to the Good Neighbor Fund, P.O. Box 2019, Aiea 96701.
Donate items to the Community Clearinghouse, which also welcomes volunteers.
For more information, call 845-1669.
