Kamaile Elementary first graders were happy to receive their books from Panda Cares, even after realizing that their “special treat” from Panda wasn’t going to be fortune cookies!

Through a partnership with Panda Express and their Panda Cares Foundation, we will be distributing three free books to the first grade students in our 16 schools. These books will be in addition to their regular RIF books, so the first grade students will receive six books this year!

Waimanalo Elementary had a special guest reader for their event — Principal Mr. Noel Richardson!

Well-behaved kindergarteners at Kauluwela Elementary listened with rapt attention during their first RIF school visitation of the year. 

Our 16 schools have set up their book distribution dates and are eagerly waiting their turn for our volunteers to get their students excited and share their love of reading!

Volunteers gathered at the end of this school year for our annual Thank You luncheon, to celebrate RIF-Honolulu’s 40th anniversary, and honor long-time volunteer Alice Fink. RIF-Honolulu started with four elementary schools in 1978 and gradually expanded over the years to our current 16 schools. The success of our program is the result of a dedicated corps of volunteers who enjoy getting children excited about reading. These ladies and gentlemen are rewarded every time they see the delight on children’s faces as they listen to stories and are then able to pick a book of their own to take home.

Miss Molly’s Grade 3 students at Kalihi Elementary welcomed RIF volunteers with an unexpected musical performance during this month’s school visit!  It was a lovely way to start the morning, capped by the excitement of selecting their own books, plus a *bonus* book picked with their eyes closed.

There were lots of smiling faces at our sixteen schools as we wrapped up our book distributions for the winter. All of our preschool through third grade students took home a new book to read.  The variety of books available resulted in children taking their time to peruse the selection before they chose the book they wanted for themselves. The students are already happily anticipating selecting their final books for the  school year in April and May.