We fondly remember Arlene Kawamura, who served as RIF’s Vice President and School Liaison after joining the team in 1998. Her attention to detail was invaluable, but it was her creativity that truly set her apart. Whether crafting calendars for our volunteers or written communication with her fellow team members, Arlene brought a sense of whimsy to everything she did. She had a special passion for visiting classrooms and sharing her love of reading with students. Arlene will be deeply missed, and her legacy will continue to inspire all of us.

At our RIF “Warm-Up” before our school visits begin next week, volunteers were treated to delicious fruit, pastries, coffee, and more .. PLUS Fred’s story-telling rendition of “How the Rooster Got Its Crown”. Fred changes up his stories when he visits classrooms, and the children love it!

View the 12-minute video

Volunteers also shared how they engage students, which was fun and enlightening. Mahalo to our host Janis 💕

RIF Honolulu had a wonderful 2023-2024 school year! During our three book distributions, we gave books to 4,563 students in grades PreK – 3 across 18 schools, including the extra book third graders chose during our last visit because it was their last time in our program. 16,335 books were purchased in all, including several Hawaii cultural titles, from various sources.

Our volunteers are the best, and came through for us once again – with more recruits joining!

One grateful school coordinator told us, “The joy that each volunteer brings is contagious! Our students are always elated to spend time with their RIF volunteer, which gets them excited about reading.”

RIF volunteer, Fred Sheng, visited Mrs. Romy’s second grade class on February 15th.

Kauluwela Elementary was mentioned in the Star-Advertiser’s “Rearview Mirror” column by Bob Sigall as being “at the same location…since 1888, the 14th year of King David Kalakaua’s reign. The school had Oahu’s first telephone…and electric lighting. School equipment didn’t include a water fountain…water ran into a wooden trough where students could dip water with their hands to drink or simply put their faces into the water.”

Top: Ms. Whiting’s 1st grade class gave RIF a very nice thank-you photo ❤️📚

Bottom: RIF reader, Maile Davis, visited Ms. Wilmington’s 2nd grade class on January 30.  It was a happy surprise and reunion since the two were high school classmates and friends!

We at RIF Honolulu wish all a very merry holiday season – and winter break at schools!  We’ll resume book distributions in January, so until then, thank you for your support in 2023, and we’re looking forward to a great 2024!

Kalihi Waena joined our RIF program as our 18th school! Along with our other schools, we’ll be visiting their students two more times this year, during our Winter and Spring distributions. Lots more fun, free books, and pride of ownership to go around!

Summer Break is coming to an end, and RIF volunteers are looking forward to distributing books at our now-18 schools (this will be Kalihi Waena’s first visit) soon! Much to be done before then, but, as the ’60’s song says, “See you in September”!

We successfully wrapped up our visitations for the school year, and have received many mahalo notes from the students.

Schools this year have told us:

“The volunteers .. have not only inspired a passion for reading, but also helped to cultivate important skills such as critical thinking, creativity, and empathy. It is so important to encourage a love of reading in children, and the volunteers do an outstanding job of engaging our students and making the reading experience both fun and educational. Their dedication and commitment to promoting literacy are truly admirable, and we are so grateful for everything they do.”

“[The students] get so excited when they know that our valuable and hardworking RIF volunteers will be on campus because they know that after the book talks are done, they’ll each get to choose their own book to keep. It’s funny because that’s when they all start to sit up straight, trying their hardest to behave so they’ll get first pick of all these wonderful books! The RIF program not only sparks our students’ interest in reading, but it also helps them to become better readers.”

RIF volunteers thoroughly enjoyed their times with students, after having to stay away for so long due to the pandemic. See you next school year!

Students and student helpers at Ma’ili Elementary were active participants in their RIF visitation, with the upper-grade helpers reading to the younger ones. Our RIF volunteers (who looked terrific in their ‘aloha’ wear) included a new recruit. We’re so grateful for all our volunteers, and are delighted when new ones choose to join us!