Spring heart to heart 2015

Help, Understanding& Group Support HEART TO HEART

Volume 1 ♥ Spring 2015

Ryan was born in October1998 to Alphonso andPhyllis Green. The Greens

finally felt like their family wascomplete after years of trying toconceive. He was nothing short of ablessing to their little family. Theyfaced many challenges with Ryan’shealth, but they decided, as acouple, that no matter what thesituation was, they were going tonurture, love and support their son.Alphonso and Phyllis turned totheir faith, their family and theirfriends for encouragement andclarity during this difficult time intheir lives. One of the hardest trialsfor them was the uncertainty of hisdiagnosis. The doctors could notgive a clear diagnosis for Ryan’ssituation, leaving the family withvery little information.

Thanks to the Air Force, the familymoved to Hawaii. It wasn’t untilmeeting Dr. Pederson at TriplerArmy Medical Center that Ryanwas properly diagnosed with aChromosome Disorder, SeizureDisorder and PervasiveDevelopmental Disorder. Phyllisdecided to stop working so shecould better care for her son anddedicate her time to him. Since theage of 9, Ryan has suffered seizuresthat stop his heart and stall his

breathing, leaving him tired fordays. Because of his condition,Ryan has been on numerousmedications for years. Despite thestruggles and challenges, Phyllissays her son is a strong and lovingperson. She describes Ryan as “herlittle fighter,” just like his father.

“HUGS is a warm invitingenvironment. It is truly awonderful way to meet otherfamilies.”

The Green family came to HUGSthrough the Tripler Army MedicalCenter. Since being referred, the

family has attended HUGS FamilyDinners, Celebration of Life andHoliday Events. Phyllis hasexpressed her joy and gratitude forthis organization saying, “It’s awarm, inviting environment. It istruly a wonderful way to meet otherfamilies.” Today, Ryan is a happy,head strong, 16-year-old with agreat sense of humor and aninfectious laugh.

The Green family has been awonderful addition to the HUGS‘Ohana. They have encounteredtheir fair share of turmoil, butknowing that they have their faith,their family, and HUGS, they knowthey are never alone. When asked toshare a word of encouragement toother families, Phyllis says, “Don’tdwell on the situation andproblems at hand.”

“Love your child, because yourchild depends on you.”

HUGS would like to send a bigmahalo to the Green family fortaking the time out of their busyschedule to share their story with allof us and for sharing the wonderfulpicture of their family. We aresending our positive thoughts andbest wishes their way!

HUGS Embraces the Green Family

The Green Family

109829_HUGS_Newsletter_r7_Layout 1 2/6/15 6:19 AM Page 1

2015 Spring Newsletter [ 2 ] ♥ HUGSLove.org

For Hawaii’s SeriouslyIll Children and theirFamilies

HONORARY TRUSTEES

June JonesBarbara Marumoto

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Patrick KleinPresident

Jason HigaPast President

Christine DaleidenPresident-Elect

Chason IshiiVice President

Wenli LinVice President

Charles LoomisVice President

JoAnn LumsdenVice President

Bill TobinVice President

Franklin Tokioka IITreasurer

Catha CombsSecretary

Darrick J. M. ChingCalvert ChipchaseJoel EmperadorRojo Herrera, Jr.Elizabeth Ignacio, M.D.Anne LeeIris MatsumotoCarri MorganTerri OkadaSonja Swenson Rogers

MEDICAL ADVISORS

Desiree Medeiros, M.D.

Darryl Glaser, M.D.

Howard Klemmer, M.D.

HUGS STAFF

Joan NaguwaExecutive Director

3636 Kilauea AvenueHonolulu, HI 96816-2318Tel: (808) 732-4846Fax: (808) 732-4881Email: [email protected]: www.hugslove.org

2015 is here and we at HUGS are looking forward to new andexciting initiatives to support Hawaii’s 250 kids and their familieswho are struggling with the many challenges of childhood illness.But, first, I would like to extend our sincere mahalo to the many,many individuals, community groups and companies who broughtjoy and holiday smiles to our children and families this past

Christmas. Thank you to Hawaiian Airlines Pilots and Flight Attendants, Holy Trinity Church, UnitedParcel Service, Pacific Guardian, and many others who contributed hundreds of toys and gifts for ourfamilies. To Spike and Serve for hosting 17 HUGS families at its fabulous Breakfast with Santa event. Tothe Berganio family who donated specially decorated wreaths for our families as well as Christmas bagsfilled with toys, blankets and other special gifts for children in the hospitals. To A Keiki’s Dream and theBaldwin High School National Honor Society for helping to create a fun-filled holiday party for ourMaui families. To Steven and Shigemi Nakao and the Tenrikyo Mission volunteers for all of their help inproducing a very special holiday event for our Oahu families. The list goes on and on… take a look at thephotos in this issue to see the faces of the caring community that supports HUGS. We are so grateful fortheir generosity in sharing their time and resources to make Christmas a very special time for HUGS’families and children!

In 2015, with all of the road construction nowadays, HUGS is bringing some programs to West Oahu withseveral family dinners and respite nights. Thanks to foundation grants, we will be able to provideneighbor island families with gift cards and transportation vouchers during their child’s stay on Oahu.And we are reaching out to the community to help us expand our services to more families.

2015 is a busy year but we are focused on meeting the needs of our families in new and better ways. Wewelcome the involvement and support of the community to help us accomplish this. Want to lend ahand? Just give me or one of our staff a call at HUGS at 732-4846.

Mahalo,

Joan NaguwaHUGS Executive Director

As we start 2015, I am honored to serve as the new President of theHUGS Board of Directors. I have been a Board member of HUGSfor seven years and am committed to making sure that Hawaii’sseriously ill children and each member of their families aresupported emotionally and financially throughout their journey.

I would like to acknowledge Jason Higa, Past President, for his strong leadership and commitment toHUGS over the past two years and welcome two new Board members, Elizabeth Ignacio, M.D. and AnneLee. Our Board of Directors is an energetic group who have great compassion for our HUGS children andfamilies and will ensure that their needs are met within our resources.

Thank you to everyone that has donated to HUGS this past year. None of the services and support thatwe provide would be possible without the community’s generous donations. We rely on the community’shelp to make sure those resources are available for our children and families. I humbly ask that youconsider making financial or in-kind contributions to HUGS throughout the year.

Mahalo,

Patrick E. KleinPresident

AUW Designation #96590CFC Designation #84333

Aloha,

Aloha,



Cades Foundation: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $5,000Friends of Hawaii Charities: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $5,000Freeman Family Fund: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $10,000Fumiko Tamura Foundation: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $2,415Hawaii Community Foundation: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $10,000Annie Sinclair Knudsen Memorial Fund: . . . . . . . . . . . . . $3,000Omidyar Ohana Fund: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $10,000Hazel H. Takumi Foundation: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1,000NFL Foundation: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $3,500Tommy Holmes Foundation Fund: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $15,000Hawaii Lodging & Tourism Association: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $5,000Williamson Rindge and Hole Family Foundation: . . . . . . . . $2,750Maui Nui Community Fund: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1,000The Austin Foundation: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $10,000Locations Foundation: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $5,612Ho/Ching Charitable Fund: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $500First Hawaiian bank Foundation: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $3,000Beta Beta Gamma Foundation: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $7,904Hawaii Hotel Industry Foundation: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $5,000June Jones Foundation: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $10,000HSMAI-Hawaii Chapter: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $3,000Hawaii Bowl Foundation: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $2,500Charles Pankow Foundation: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $3,000

HUGS received $124,181 in grant money last year, which helpedcover HUGS extensive list of programs aimed at helping localfamilies, including SibCamp, SibShops, military families,Celebration of Life, Peer to Peer Support, Airfare Assistance andgeneral overhead support.

HUGS would like to wholeheartedly thank the followingorganizations for their support:

Mahalo“We are so grateful for the funds each of thesegroups granted us this year,” said Joan Naguwa,HUGS ExecutiveDirector, “Theirgenerosity has allowedus to better servefamilies with seriouslyill children across thestate of Hawaii.”

Save the date!

HUGS Love Gala,Saturday, May 2

Pomaika‘i Ballroomat Dole Cannery

5:00 pm – 9:00 pmDetails coming soon.



HUGS Announces 2015 Executive Board

HONOLULU – www.hugslove.org- HUGS, a localnon-profit helping families with seriously illchildren, today announced its 2015 HUGS Board

of Directors officers, which includes Patrick Klein,President; Jason Higa, Past President; Christine Daleiden,President-Elect; Chason Ishii, Vice President; Wenli Lin,Vice President; Charles Loomis, Vice President; JoAnnLumsden, Vice President; Bill Tobin, Vice President; CathaCombs, Secretary; and Franklin Tokioka II, Treasurer.

The 2015 HUGS Board Members also include Darrick J. M.Ching, Calvert Chipchase, Joel Emperador, Rojo Herrera,Jr., Elizabeth Ignacio, M.D., Anne Lee, Iris Matsumoto,Carri Morgan, Terri Okada, and Sonja Swenson Rogers.

“We are excited to have the expertise and leadership of agreat Board of Directors who are committed to helpingHawaii’s families with seriously ill children, “ says JoanNaguwa, HUGS Executive Director. “We are serving morechildren and their families each year and need a top-notchboard to help us secure the resources to meet their needs.We’re so happy these caring business people are giving backso freely to Hawaii’s families, by serving on our board.”

Board President Patrick Klein, Director of Advertising atOahu Publications (dba Honolulu Star-Advertiser), willlead the organization. His years working in Hawaii inadvertising combined with his years living in FukuokaPrefecture, Japan, working for the Japanese government,gives Klein invaluable experience working on a local,national and international level. A Maryknoll High Schoolgraduate raised in Kailua, Kline holds a Bachelor of Sciencein Business Administration with a concentration inmarketing from Gonzaga University in Spokane,Washington. Klein also is a Pacific Century Fellow, Class of2012. In addition to his work with HUGS, Klein currentlyserves on the board of directors for Hospice Hawaii and BigBrothers Big Sisters. Currently he belongs to numeroustrade organizations such as the Honolulu Board of Realtors,Japanese Chamber of Commerce, Building IndustryAssociation, and the Society for Human ResourceManagement Hawaii Chapter.

For more information about HUGS and how you can getinvolved please contact HUGS at 808.732.4846 or checkout their website www.hugslove.org.

About HUGS

For more than 30 years, HUGS hasbeen helping Hawaii’s families withseriously ill children to improve theirquality of life through programs thataddress the emotional, social,physical, and financial needs of eachfamily member and the entire family.HUGS relies on donations made bythe community to provide servicesfree of charge to families with aseriously ill child, ages birth to 21years.



Meet the HUGS Staff

HUGS is excited to start off 2015 with a bang. Weare looking forward to not only continuing thesupport services for our families, but also to

grow our programs and services this year. We’d like tointroduce you to the team who makes it all possible. Withonly six staff members, it’s fair to say we all wear manyhats and can be seen not only in our own departments,but doing a multitude of other things to make HUGS assupportive and welcoming as it has always been.

Joan Naguwa, Executive Director, providesoverall leadership and oversight of HUGSadministrative operations and programs, funddevelopment, community partnerships and justabout everything else that happens at HUGS forour children and families. She has over 35 yearsof program development and executive

management experience in several nonprofit agencies andcommunity organizations in Hawaii.

Marty Oliphant, MSW, Director of Programs,provides oversight and direction to all of HUGSPrograms and services. Marty has heldnumerous leadership and social work positionsin the nonprofit and government sectors for thepast 19 years. He is married and has twoincredible children.

Ann Yasui, VolunteerCoordinator, is responsible for therecruitment, training andretention of HUGS very valuablevolunteer team. Ann reaches outto schools and community groupsto ensure that HUGS always hasan enthusiastic and compassionate

team of volunteers. She is married to Dr. Steve Yasui(Kaiser Honolulu Clinic) and they have a daughterattending school in Philadelphia.

Jamie McLaughlin, Development Coordinator,oversees fund development, includingindividuals, corporations and the Annual Gala.She also oversees the HUGS brand and mediarelations including collateral development, socialmedia, print and television. Prior to joiningHUGS, Jamie worked for various non-profits

supporting children and families.

Nicole La Rose, HUGS Family Services ProgramManager is responsible for the planning andimplementation of HUGS programs to supportseriously ill children and their families,including Respite Care for parents and caretakers, Family Events, Peer Groups and otherprograms. Nicole was born in Honolulu and,

after growing up in California, returned to the islands for collegeand to be closer to family.

Stephanie Caoili is the Family Services ProgramSpecialist for HUGS. She is responsible for theintake, assessment and follow-up of familyreferrals to HUGS. She actively supports HUGSfamilies and potential HUGS families throughthe hospital outreach program, respite activities,support groups, sibling and parent support

activities, and other aid programs. No stranger to working withchildren, Stephanie most recently taught fourth grade with theHawaii Department of Education.

#HUGSFirstSelfie

Connect with HUGS on social media!

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Steven Nakao family and friends Sugano Agency - State Farm Insurance

Shining Stars in HUGS Holiday Happenings

HUGS WOULD LIKE TO THANK THE FOLLOWING:

100th Infantry Battalion Veterans ClubAloha Table Tennis AssociationAloha United WayBaldwin High School National Honor SocietyBerganio Family and FriendsBubba Gump Shrimp Co.Christina’s PhotographyCity MillCookie CornerCookies by DesignCostcoDarby Gill (A Keiki’s Dream)David Kila-8th Grader at Kamehameha SchoolDispute Prevention & Resolution, Inc.Drill Team HawaiiEpic ‘Ohana Inc.Franklin Tokioka IIGirl Scouts of HawaiiHawaiian Airlines and Donald Del CarmenHawaiian TelcomHIHO (Hands In Helping Out)Hinano

Holy Trinity ChurchHonolulu Sunset RotaryHSMAIIolani Cub Scout Pack 325La Pietra Hawaii School for GirlsLeilehua High School BandOceanic Time Warner CablePacific Guardian LifePBR HawaiiPrisma DancePunahou SchoolSafewaySpike and ServeSteven Nakao Family and FriendsSugano Agency - State FarmTargetTenri Cultural Center and Tenrikyo HawaiiThe ForestersTiki’s Grill & BarUH Manoa HOSA ClubUnited Parcel Service

David Kila and family

The Berganio family and friends

UH Manoa HOSA Club



Shining Stars in HUGS Holiday Happenings

HMSAI

La Pietra School for Girls

Tenri Cultural Center and Tenrikyo Hawaii

Carrie Morgan and Punahou School StudentsAloha United Way

Hawaiian Airlines

Cookies By Design and Cookie Corner

Hawaiian Telcom


3636 Kilauea Avenue • Honolulu, HI 96816

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PAIDHonolulu, HI

Permit No. 9613Help, Understanding& Group Support


“HUGS is our second family.”— HUGS Dad, Chris

HUGS wants to go green. If you areinterested in receiving the quarterlyHeart to Heart Newsletter via emailplease let us know by emailing us [email protected].

Going Green


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Spring heart to heart 2015