Upcountry Girl Scouts grant wishes for Maui’s seniors.The Upcountry Girl Scout Troop 993 has been together since the third grade. Today, Ryanne Ortiz, Leslee Mahoney, Shannon Kerr and Aurora Lincoln are high school seniors working on their “Gold Award,” which is a culmination of all their years in scouting. With national standards, it’s the most difficult and prestigious award a Girl Scout can earn. It started with a dream and a vision of something that would be beneficial to the community and requires countless hours of preparation.
The Girl Scout organization’s purpose is to “empower girls to find the courage, confidence and character to make the world a better place.” These four girls are doing just that, when they chose a project that helps the mental and physical health of our most neglected segment of the population—they hope to raise awareness of our elders in long-term care facilities. The girls were inspired by and chose to model their project after the “Twilight Wish Foundation,” which grants wishes to senior citizens.
The girls solicited Teresa Lopes, activities director of Hale Makua in Kahului, to help them find seniors that would be a good fit for the program. Leslee Mahoney is creating a Web page for publicity that will eventually be linked to Hale Makua’s Website. Ortiz launched the “Make a Wish for Seniors” project by interviewing residents of Hale Makua, documenting their life histories and asking them for their wishes. So far, the wishes have been an electric wheelchair, a Bose radio with headphones, an airline flight to O‘ahu to visit family and a helicopter ride. The girls had to work harder than they expected, but were determined to fulfill these wishes. Fortunately, Windward Construction of Kahului generously donated the Bose electronics and their first wish granted.
Lopes put these Girl Scouts in touch with John Bellini. She believed his life could be dramatically changed with an electric scooter, and felt that he was an ideal candidate for independent living. John, a retired hairdresser, has lived on Maui since 1995 and has two daughters.
Two years ago, John had a stroke and was in Hale Makua for three months for rehab. After he was released, he fell due to the paralysis on his right side and broke his shoulder. This led to his return to Hale Makua, where he has been for the last year.
Upon meeting John, I found him to be a bright, articulate and gregarious person whose goal is to be independent. Therefore, he has signed up to become a resident at Hale Mahaolu with assistance from PACE (Program for All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly), a division of Hale Makua. With the independence an electric scooter would allow him, this would be possible.
Shannon Kerr solicited service organizations for help in granting the wishes, which brought her to the Rotary Club of Maui. Club member Patti Chevalier, co-owner of Blue Hawaiian Helicopters, graciously donated the helicopter ride and the club made a donation towards an electric scooter.
As a seasoned “wheelchair scout” and Rotary Club of Maui member, I (Harlan Hughes) found a nearly new “Jazzy 600XL” electric scooter on Craigslist on O‘ahu. After relating the Girl Scout’s story, I was able to negotiate a price of $2,550 for the previously owned scooter, which cost $6,000 new. I then contacted Laura Steelquist, past assistant district governor of Hawai‘i’s Rotary Clubs, and current president and director of Hawaiian Island Medical, a medical equipment company on O‘ahu. Laura checked out the scooter, found it to be in excellent condition, and delivered it to Royal Hawaiian Movers on O‘ahu—all at no charge.
Michael Nason, president of the Rotary Club of Maui and vice president of Royal Hawaiian Movers, had the scooter delivered from O‘ahu to Hale Makua at no charge.
John Bellini received his Jazzy Electric Scooter on Thursday, Oct. 9, just three days after his 70th birthday, bringing closer his goal of independent living.
Sheri Kerr, the Girl Scout troop’s leader, has a new appreciation for the Rotarians. “They really do live up to their motto of service above self.”
Other contributors have been the Rotary Club of Kihei-Wailea, Rotary Club of Upcountry Maui member Debbie Jefkin-Elnekave, the Kiwanis Club of Maui, Kula AARP member Sue Williams-Rowe and Summer Starr. The Girl Scout troop also donated the proceeds from their cookie sales.
After all the wishes are granted, Aurora will throw a party for all the donors and recipients and present the seniors with a scrapbook of their wish event.
The Girl Scout troop is still seeking donations. If you are interested in their cause, contact Kerr at 878-8706 or email kerrs@hawaii.rr.com.
For more information on Girl Scouts, call the Maui Council office at 244-3744 or visit www.girlscouts-hawaii.org. To learn more about the Rotary Club of Maui, visit www.rotaryclubofmaui.org.