Weinberg’s Painters Boost New Mililani Youth Program
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When the Mililani YMCA’s new middle-school program begins this month, it will do so with fresh color on the walls and a hefty $10,000 boost in funding - all because 53 Rotarians and their friends got together on a rainy November day with paint and brushes.
The latest Weinberg Friends project is courtesy of volunteers from five Rotary clubs, Walmart and the U.S. Army. Lead club this year was Mililani Sunrise Rotary with help from members of the Wahiawa-Waialua, West Pearl Harbor, Kapolei and Waianae Coast clubs.
“Since it was raining, we had to paint all the walls that were under cover,“explained Wahiawa Rotarian Geoff Horvath, who helped establish the project in 2003. “This was still a large task. Everyone was so into their work we had to slow down a bit so we wouldn’t finish early!”
It was the Sunrise club, headed by Ralph Martin, which chose the YMCA as recipient of the 2008 Weinberg partnership. (The Harry and Jeannette Weinberg Foundation awards the grant to a nonprofit club for a cause of its choice - once it has completed a bona fide four-hour work day with at least 50 volunteers.)
“It turned out quite well,“Martin said, “though we still have some walls and pillars to paint over in a couple weeks. Mililani Y needed repainting, and it seemed a perfect fit. As the grant recipient as well, the Y seemed to be the one to have the most community impact.”
Mililani Y executive director Jennifer Townsend said the Club Mid program will start by serving area middle-school students in grades 6-8 this month, offering activities during intersession periods. The funds will pay their user fees, which helps make the program self-sustaining and should create positive social time among Mililani’s crush of after-school idle pre-teens.
“We’ll start with intersession and build on the space and interest from there,” she said. To inquire about Club Mid, call 625-1040.
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