RIF elves (aka volunteers) have been hard at work getting books ready for the Winter distribution that will start in January!  We’re excited for the children who will be receiving their new books soon!

As we enter the holiday season and reflect on all the things we are thankful for, we want to take this opportunity to give thanks to all of our dedicated volunteers and generous supporters throughout the many years that have helped RIF Honolulu serve Hawaii’s keiki.

For over 40 years, RIF, Honolulu has supported children and communities on Oahu to promote literacy and a life-long love of reading. With your help, we have distributed over 600,000 brand new books, and impacted the lives of over 50,000 of Hawaii’s keiki through books and literacy support. Since 1978 RIF Honolulu, along with the many volunteers and supporters, has been dedicated to RIF Honolulu’s mission of promoting literacy through book ownership. Today we have grown to serve Pre-K – 3rd grade students in 16 public schools throughout Oahu.

Kindergarten and Grade 1 students at Nanaikapono Elementary School were very happy to receive their books (and bookmarks!).  This was their first RIF visitation of the school year, and they are looking forward to the Winter and Spring visits!

These are just a few of the MANY thank-you cards, letters, and posters that students made for their RIF readers this school year.  The messages inside are sweet and often funny, but some 3rd graders’ letters were tinged with a bit of sadness as this would be their last RIF year (we serve pre-school through third grade).  We’ll miss them, too, and hope they’ve discovered the joy of reading, especially for fun, during their four years with RIF.

Ka’uluwela Elementary third grade students presented their special thank you card to Mrs. Tam at their last RIF visitation of the school year. Each child wanted to show her the “petal” they made to express their mahalo to her for reading to them, reminding them why reading is so important (especially over the summer months while they won’t be in school), and allowing them to select a book of their own.

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.