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Infant supplies donated by King Kekaulike Key Club

Shown are King Kekaulike High School Key Club President Kainalu Yoshida (from left), Key Club International Maui Division Assistant Kaye Nono and King Kekaulike High School Key Club Vice Presidents Kristine Nono and Amanda Heauser-Caires. The school’s club, with help from Kiwanis International, donated infant items to Malama Family Recovery Center’s BabySafe (Substance Abuse Free Environment) Program.

King Kekaulike High School’s Key Club recently donated a variety of infant supplies to the Malama Family Recovery Center’s BabySafe (Substance Abuse Free Environment) Program.

Items include 660 diapers, more than 2,000 baby wipes, 15 new diaper bags containing diaper rash cream, three board books and a fleece blanket.

Students attached notes of encouragement to the diaper bags with messages such as “Never Give Up” and “Keep Up the Good Work.”

Malama is the only women-specific addiction treatment center on Maui and the only place on the island where babies and young children and live with their mothers while they get help, according to a news release.

The project was part of Kiwanis International’s Youth Opportunities Fund grant, which helps Key Clubs and Key Club members serve the world by providing grants for service opportunities and scholarships for members.

“One of the Key Club’s major emphasis is ‘Children: Their future, our focus,’ “ said Cindy Asato-Kochi, Key Club faculty adviser and King Kekaulike special education coordinator.” So when we heard about the BabySAFE program, we saw a direct alignment to what we do and wanted to support those right here in our Maui community.”

“We are deeply grateful to the King Kekaulike Key Club for supporting the moms and babies at Malama.” said Lisa Ponichtera, Malama clinical director. “We aim to eliminate the most common barriers to treatment and long-term recovery that women face, and one of those barriers is extreme poverty. It is understandably difficult for mothers at Malama to function on a basic level and start participating in treatment when they are worried about providing the most basic necessities for their newborns. Because of this donation, our clients can really begin the healing process and focus on being strong parents.”

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