CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARBULLETIN.COM
Irene Nunes sorts out clothing that has just come in to Helping Hands' Community Clearinghouse warehouse on Nimitz Highway. Volunteers pitch in to sort through the items donated for needy families at Christmas.
Clearinghouse has
heart for needy
Living on the streets for a year provided Alex Maru with the empathy needed for his volunteer job at Helping Hands Hawaii, where he answers phone calls from people requesting help.
"My heart goes out to a lot of people. I've been on the streets myself before I got my act together. People out there are really hurting. I'm glad I hooked up here to help people really in dire need. I can identify where they're coming from," Maru said.
"He really does bring a cheer to the office," manager Capsun Poe said of Maru, who sometimes plays his ukulele during slow periods.
Maru, 49, is one of the 10 volunteers pitching in at Helping Hands' Community Clearinghouse on Nimitz Highway. The charity's warehouse is piled unusually high with items donated for needy families at Christmas. There's even more furniture, clothes and kitchen supplies in the warehouse than at the same time last year, staffers said.
"It's good to have so much stuff," said Georgette Cruise, who has been volunteering for the organization for a year and a half.
Cruise and others help to keep the mountains of free merchandise under control, sort-ing through donated items, organizing items into different sections and helping clients who come to pick up what they need, Poe said.
"I like to see people with a smile on their face and excited with their items when they leave," Cruise said.
Helping Hands' Community Clearinghouse, at 2100 N. Nimitz Highway, is working with the Star-Bulletin to collect money and donations for the Good Neighbor Fund. Monetary gifts may be sent to P.O. Box 17328, Honolulu, HI 96817, or dropped off at any of First Hawaiian Bank's 56 statewide branches. For more information, call 536-7234.
