COVID - 19 Response

Although we pray for an end to this pandemic and all it entails, there are gifts to be found in rest, togetherness, and creativity. As a family, we are optimizing on these gifts while also implementing creative ways to reach students and families through Kona Kids Outreach.

In the midst of Covid-19, Kona Kids Outreach (KKO) is providing both direct services and access to various services, especially to students and families living in government/subsidized housing, and is working in partnership with legislative authorities, schools, other non-profits, and businesses in an effort to collaborate and streamline efforts.

• Together with The Boys and Girls Club and Hope Services we are delivering 150-200 hot meals Mon.-Fri. to families at Ka Hale Kahalu’u, La’ilani, Jack Hall, and Kaimalino. 

• With local chefs, fishermen, and the Kona Brewery, we’re delivering 30-40 containers of fresh soup Tuesdays and Thursdays to families in the Kealakehe area.

• With Living Stones Church, donors, and local farmers, we are providing bags of food and fresh produce to families who communicate need.

• With schools, we are helping teachers connect with students and families to keep them informed and pass along educational materials. We’ve distributed flyers and gone door to door letting families know about free school lunches and computer access, providing transportation to these services when needed. 

• With private donations, we’ve loaned out laptops to HS students unable to check out school computers. 

• With a team of volunteers and donations from Kona Stories, teachers, and individuals, we are distributing "KKO Weekly Challenges" to students (art, reading, and cooking/other contests where kids receive a challenge, and we provide supplies and prizes) to encourage learning and creativity.  

• With West Hawaii Community Health and volunteer seamstresses, we are distributing masks to both adults and keiki in the community.

An amazing team of creative thinkers, packers, drivers, and deliverers are shining more than ever over this community. And more than ever, we have been able to connect with parents, property managers, and school officials. These folks in our community are encountering Jesus in each of the team members who go out. 

It is our hope that these efforts accomplish not only a meeting of practical needs, but also brings an awareness to some real inequities and obstacles for many of the folks in our community; access to services does not equate to an obtainment of services, and our mission is to see this gap narrowed. It is our hope that through this crisis, we can work together toward real solutions and send a message that we are in this and better together.