By Barry Villamil
President, Rotary Club of Pearlridge
Member, Mana Loa Nimitz Lions Club
Volunteers representing the Mana Loa Nimitz Lions Club and Rotary Club of Pearlridge partnered once again in the Pearl City community on Saturday, July 13 helping with two service projects that benefitted both the Momilani Community Center and Pearl City High School Community Garden.
The Saturday community service workday for both the Mana Loa Nimtz Lions Club (MLNLC) and Rotary Club of Pearlridge (RCOP) was led by MLNLC President Elly Frilles, MLNLC Past President Dexter Aoki, and me, Barry Villamil, President, Rotary Club of Pearlridge.
MOMILANI COMMUNITY CENTER
Volunteers got an early 6:30am start at the Momilani Community Center in Pearl City. We were met by Momilani Community Center / Pearl City Foundation Director Naomi Tully-Ungacta who briefed volunteers with the tasks ahead to clean-up and beautify the center grounds that included:
Trimmed back small trees and bushes, cleared weeds and grass along sidewalks, moved cement tile blocks, old construction and miscellaneous materials to prepare for a new 20’ storage container that will be placed in the area on the community center grounds.
PEARL CITY HIGH SCHOOL COMMUNITY GARDEN
At 8:00am, a group of MLNLC and RCOP volunteers made their way up to Pearl City High School (PCHS) to volunteer with members of Leeward Community Church at the Pearl City High School Community Garden and Pumpkin Patch.
Volunteers dug out sixty holes (five rows of 12 holes) to prepare for planting of pumpkin seeds. The full-size Pumpkin Patch is expected to yield two-hundred pumpkins within ninety days.
Pearl City High School, led by PCHS Studernt Activities Coordinator Kyle Miyashiro, have recently embarked on a green, sustainable, environmental, educational project that includes the community by creating and developing the PCHS Community Garden which is located on the school property near the school entrance on Waimano Home Road.
Richelle Thornburg from the Leeward Community Church leads the efforts by the church to spearhead the development and sustainability of the PCHS Garden, Pumpkin Patch, as well as growth and expansion. Leeward Community Church received a twenty thousand dollar grant to get the project started.
Community service groups and volunteers, along with corporate sponsors will play an integral role in support and future success of the PCHS Community Garden as plans are underway to feature the following at the garden:
- Pumpkin Patch that will provide two-hundred free pumpkins representing three varieties of pumpkins to the community on Halloween, 2024 during a community drive-by at the PCHS Community Garden and Pumpkin Patch.
- 4X10 beds for the community to grow their own produce, flowers, plants, etc… The beds will be made available to the community for an annual fee of $100.00.
- Raised beds for Seniors to grow their own produce, flowers, plants, etc… There will also be a covered area for the Seniors to enjoy their time together comfortably at the garden.
- Outdoor classroom for PCHS students to learn and manage their crops being grown at the garden.
- Dry land taro, banana patch, and papaya tree grove.
Mana Loa Nimitz Lions Club and Rotary Club of Pearlridge members had a very rewarding experience volunteering their time at the Momilani Community Center and Pearl City High School Community Garden and Pumpkin Patch on Saturday. Many of us will be making an investment in the PCHS Community Garden beds/plots program and look forward to our first harvest that we will share with family and friends in the community.
I am extremely proud and honored to represent the Rotary Club of Pearlridge as its President, and as an active member of the Mana Loa Nimitz Lions Club.
Truly blessed to be a part of two groups of community service-oriented organizations whose membership gives from their heart and soul to the communities we serve and deeply care about.
Video and Photos by Barry Villamil
Cover photo: (L-R) Barry Villamil, President, Rotary Club of Pearlridge; Naomi Tully-Ungacta, Director, Pearl City Foundation; Representative Sam Kong, Member, Mana Loa Nimitz Lions Club
MOMILANI COMMUNITY CENTER CLEAN-UP AND BEAUTIFICATION WORKDAY
