WHEREAS, in the early 1970's, the Honolulu Council of Churches operated the Waikiki Jungle Community Center, which housed a cooperative child care center, housing assistance services, and landlord-tenant advocacy services; and

WHEREAS, the Waikiki Jungle Community Center building was destroyed by fire in 1973, whereupon it moved to a condominium on the corner of Saratoga and Kalia Road for a few years, then to the Koa Cottages (site of the current Pacific Beach Hotel) as a program run by the Moiliili Community Center, and finally, to its current location on the grounds of the old St. Augustine School; and

WHEREAS, the Waikiki Community Center was incorporated in 1978 and started out by providing two programs, a child care program started with Title XX federal funds and a senior program that started with very little funding; and

WHEREAS, the Waikiki Community Center addresses the needs of residents and workers in the Waikiki community, including the homeless, the poor, the unemployed, single parents, middle aged persons and senior citizens, and tourists; and

WHEREAS, some of the services offered by the Waikiki Community Center include providing food to the needy, counseling and general social services to all, information and referral to various community agencies, child care services, including services for parents working in Waikiki who come from all over Oahu, recreational and social activities, and meeting facilities for churches, support groups, and others; and

WHEREAS, over the years, some of the specific services the Waikiki Community Center offered include classes on ballroom, beginning tap, and line dance, classes in Okinawan Karate, Chi Gong, Tai Chi, accupressure, and aerobics, classes in conversational English, Spanish, French, and Japanese, operating an emergency food pantry and a farmer's market, offering meeting facilities for Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, Weight Watchers, bingo, bridge, and mahjongg games, various condominium resident associations, the Bethel Apostolic Community Church, Hope Chapel, the Korean Somang Church, and Kahilat Ha Melech Messianic Jewish Services; and

WHEREAS, the Waikiki Community Center organizes various fundraising events such as the Ala Wai Challenge, the Waikiki August Moon Auction, and the Waikiki Children's Festival, as well as other fundraising partnerships with various Waikiki businesses, and organizes other special events for senior citizens such as neighbor island trips, inter-island cruises, shopping tours, international cultural nights, the St. Patrick's Day parade float, and the Lord Mayor's Ball; and

WHEREAS, the Waikiki Community Center also works with the Judiciary in providing a work site for community volunteers, the Department of Education and the Honolulu Police Department in providing a work site for teenage community sentencing programs, and the University of Hawaii Schools of Social Work, Public Health, and Nursing in providing a placement site and supervision; and

WHEREAS, the Waikiki Community Center requires no formal application, has no eligibility requirements, no wait lists, serves clients immediately with no need for an appointment, and does not charge for its services; and

WHEREAS, the Waikiki Community Center is committed to being resourceful, supportive, and accountable to the needs of the Waikiki community to improve the quality of life within the community; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-second Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2003, that this body congratulate the Waikiki Community Center on its 25^th Anniversary and offers its heartfelt wishes and aloha for many more successful years of service to the Waikiki community.

Report Title:

Waikiki Community Center 25^th Anniversary; congratulations