Cotton candy, balloon art, ornament making, snacks, Kana Kaloka (Santa Claus), lunch, face painting, live music and animals! It was a day of festive liveliness at the annual Holiday Party in support of Hawaii’s foster children and their families!

On Sunday, December 15, The Locations Foundation, supported by Prudential Locations, LLC, joined hundreds of other volunteers at the Neal Blaisdell Exhibition Hall for a day of Holiday cheer as Child and Family Services of Hawaii hosted their annual Holiday celebration. Hundreds of foster children attended; it’s such a great way for siblings living in different foster homes to reconnect with family and each other during the Holiday season.

In 2008, we volunteered with a cotton candy booth, and we’ve been attending every year since. This year we made over 1500 cotton candy treats! We were absolutely, hands down, the favorite booth at the party. Our line literally never ended, in fact when the party was officially over, volunteers from the other booths came over for a sweet treat before we broke the booth down.

One of the volunteers who works with Family Services told me that every year she brings her own children so they can volunteer and help in some way. Since they are getting older, she thought this year they might not want to attend. When she asked her son, he said, “Is that the party where we can eat as much cotton candy as we want? Then I’m going!”

A Wave of Giving Creates an Ocean of Caring 

Giving back to the community, where we live and work, defines the Locations Foundation, the not-for-profit arm of Prudential Locations, Hawaii’s No. 1 locally owned and operated real estate agency, with more transactions than any other company.

Last night, November 14, the Pacific Business News held the 12th Annual Business Leadership Hawaii Dinner and Awards Event and recognized the Locations Foundation as the Community Spirit Award winner from a panel of eight finalists. 

“The key to a successful volunteer effort is simple: offer employees an organized and empowering opportunity to give back to the community,” says Bill Chee, Prudential Locations CEO.

In attendance to accept the PBN Community Spirit Award were Locations Foundation donors: Jodee Farm, Locations Foundation president; Dolores Bediones (R), Stephanie Chan (R), Michael Marks (RA), Brandon Lau (R), Chad Takesue (R), James Chan (R) and Mary Tess Edu (R).

The wind’s blowing in your hair and you’re going as fast as you possibly can. What a feeling!

It was all part of the fun at the box car racing event sponsored by Locations Foundation, supported by Prudential Locations, LLC, for Child and Family Services of Hawaii. This event, held at American Box Car Racing International recently, is a great way for siblings living in different foster homes to reconnect with family and each other in a fun and safe environment.

A big mahalo goes out to the host of Prudential Locations' staff and REALTORS® who participated in the event, including Tom Presler, Joe Segal, Jodee Farm, Stephanie Chan, Eric Uyeda, Cheri Ambard, Fred Ushijima, Jessica Chiu, Lindsey Itamoto, Annie McCrea, Jo Ann Foulkes from Prudential Locations and Luana Holi (from Property Management). In addition to the many children and families, volunteers and staff members from Child and Family Services also attended.

A yummy lunch accompanied by many happy and smiling faces concluded the event, and we look forward to another great event next year with the kids!