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‘Everyone deserves a Christmas’

Imaika’s Christmas Project embodies the spirit of giving

KIHEI -- Cheryl Padaken's love of baking led her to give back -- in a big way -- to the less fortunate.

"I love to bake," she said. "And sometimes I go a little overboard."

That's what happened 15 years ago, when Padaken had a surplus of cookies and cupcakes in her kitchen on Christmas Day. "I wanted to give them away so I wouldn't eat all of them," she laughed.

So, she boxed up the baked goods and headed to Kalama Park, where she handed them out to homeless men and women. "I met a lot of people who were all alone on Christmas Day . . . it was an eye-opening experience," she said. "That's how it all started."

The following year, she baked dozens of cookies and cupcakes and spent Christmas morning walking through Kalama Park, along South Kihei Road and up and down Sugar Beach, distributing them to anyone she could find. "I made up my mind that I'd do it every Christmas," she said.

For the first few years, it was a solo venture but, in 2006, Padaken's parents, siblings and cousins decided to tag along. She wasn't surprised when they asked to help out, she said. "I knew it was just a matter of time."

Padaken's late father, Joseph Kaiwi, had emphasized the importance of giving back for as long as she can remember.

"My dad always told us, 'It's not all about you,'" she said. "He taught us to be generous and care for others."

For the next several years, members of the Kaiwi family gathered at Kalama Park on Christmas morning to bring holiday cheer to the less fortunate.

Then, five years ago, Padaken's nephew Imaika, who had been diagnosed with severe mental illness, stopped taking his medication and left home. "He lives on the streets," she said. "We haven't been able to find him."

That year, the Kaiwi family decided to do something different. Family members knew that organizations like Hale Kau Kau at St. Theresa Church in Kihei provide hot meals for the homeless in the afternoons and evenings, so they started serving breakfast at Kalama Park bright and early on Christmas Day. "We wanted to give them breakfast and a 'to-go' bag filled with banana bread, fruit and other things . . . so they'd be full until dinner," Padaken said.

But there was an ulterior motive for the Christmas Day breakfast: Padaken's family yearned to reconnect with Imaika. So far, he hasn't attended, but Padaken and members of her family are hopeful that he will someday. "That's why we called it Imaika's Christmas Project," she said. "We keep saying, 'maybe one year he'll show up.' " Until then, the family will continue to look for him -- and to help South Maui's homeless every Christmas.

Today, Imaika's Christmas Project is still a family affair but the group has picked up a few nonfamily helping hands along the way. More than 20 volunteers, half of which are Padaken's relatives, now help out at the annual event.

"The joke is if you get a jingly hat, you're in," she laughed. "The more, the merrier."

When they launched Imaika's Christmas Project in 2011, family members loaded cups of coffee, breakfast sandwiches and "to go" bags onto a single picnic table in the Kalama Park pavilion. "About 15 people showed up the first year," she said.

Now, the group encompasses a large grassy area at the park, where volunteers serve a hot breakfast and hand out donated clothing, shoes, toiletries, towels, pillows, fleece blankets and gift bags to nearly 50 homeless men and women.

"We get there around 4:30 a.m. to set up," Padaken said. "People are already waiting for us when we get there."

Occasionally, she will take out her cellphone and offer to call loved ones for the people in attendance. "I do it so they can say 'Merry Christmas'  . . . and so their family knows they're OK," she said.

Around 8 a.m., the group loads any remaining items into reusable bags and walks along South Kihei Road, handing them out. Leftover items are taken to St. Theresa Church or The Salvation Army.

Padaken is a care home manager who oversees facilities on both coasts. She's always on the go, so her mother, Jerry, and sister Hyde Batson start collecting items from donors around Thanksgiving.

"We received a lot of donations this year," Padaken said. "We advertised in the newspaper for the first time and the phone was ringing off the hook."

Padaken said that she is grateful for the donations, but there's something else on her wish list -- to reduce the stigma attached to homelessness.

"These people are human beings; they are someone's son or daughter and they deserve to be treated with respect and kindness," Padaken said. "We don't care what got them there -- we're just here to help."

This year, Imaika's Christmas Project took place on the morning of Christmas Eve. "Some of our family members couldn't be here on Christmas Day, so we moved it up a day," Padaken explained.

In addition to serving breakfast and distributing clothing, toiletries and other items, the group set up a Christmas tree and handed out wrapped gifts.

"Every year, we try to provide something that we think the people on the streets could use," she said.

Next year, Padaken will pass the event coordinator torch to Batson, but the family will continue to serve Christmas meals at Kalama Park in the years to come.

"People ask us if we are with a church or a nonprofit. I always say, 'No, we are just a family,' " she said. "We do it every year because we believe everyone deserves a Christmas."

For more information about Imaika's Christmas Project, contact Padaken at cpadaken@gmail.com.