Imua Family Services

Mahalo to Maui Now for spreading the spooktacular news about the Keiki Halloween Festival and Cinema🎃 We hope you and your whole ohana can join us at the Maui Arts and Cultural Center on Saturday, October 26 from 4-8pm for this free Halloween Mega Mashup! https://lnkd.in/gYM8f8vX

We are thrilled to present this FREE Mega Monster Mashup Keiki Halloween Festival and Cinema at the MACC, in partnership with the Maui Arts and Cultural Center. 🗓️ Saturday , October 26 ⌚️ 4:00 pm to 8:00 pm  📍 The MACC Join us for a variety of activities including: 🎃 Dozens of trick or treat stations 👻 Animal encounter area 🎤 Live music from DJ Boomshot and Marty Dread 💀 Two films on the big screen, It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown and Hotel Transylvania

We are thrilled to be mentioned in this article by David Dickstein of the Orange County Register. Click to the second page and look for the highlighted section to check it out🥳

The Imua Discovery Garden has achieved Level 1 Arboretum Accreditation with The Morton Arboretum! To qualify for this designation, we created a plan that defines our purpose, audience, as well as the types of plants that are to be grown to achieve that purpose and serve those audiences. We have also created provisions for the maintenance and care of the plants, and provisions for the continuing operation of the organization through time with a clear succession plan. In addition, there must be individuals that care for the plants, and at least a 25 different species of plants must be being grown. Each species must be labeled to inform viewers of specific information including scientific name and source or date of acquisition, among other requirements. Finally, there is a public access component to the accreditation (this one is our favorite aspect). Inviting the community up to the garden for various festivals and events including the Start and Finish of Pedal Imua, the Keiki Halloween and Holiday Festivals, hosting The Tenors, John Cruz and a whole host of other musical artists over the years, we love bringing folks to the garden! And of course, our pre-schoolers get to enjoy the green space regularly as part of their curriculum and classroom! To learn more and read the full list of requirements, follow the link below. https://lnkd.in/gXjZCF2C Over the years we have also registered and become accredited with  the American Public Garden Association, The Morton International Register of Arboretum. Additionally, all 7 of the 120+ year-old Monkey Pod Trees on the property have been registered with the State as Exceptional Trees. Mahalo to the many hands that have contributed to getting this slice of tree-paradise accredited. We hope to see you under one of the Monkey Pod trees soon!

According to a study done by the Children & Nature Network across an eight-year time span, children with access to green space near their home and more specifically, their school, reported lower levels of anxiety and better overall mental health outcomes. From the article: "data did indicate that greenspace exposure at schools was significantly related to lower levels of anxiety..." Find the link to the full article below. This and other similar research is why Imua facilitates two nature-based preschools, and a great example why we include nature in our curriculum. Imua's preschool based in Kahului includes weekly days the students call "Forest School" where they are at the Imua Discovery Garden all day. The keiki who enjoy preschool on the grounds of the Imua Discovery Garden daily are immersed in green space and shaded by sprawling monkey pods and have outdoor tables and playhouses. We also offer Play Imua for pre-preschool children to come and play outside, bond with their caregivers in nature while they interact with our resident therapy animals including alpaca, a macaw, a tortoise, bunnies and many more! Have you been to the Imua Discovery Garden? Let us know your most fond memories in the comments. If not, we invite you up! Come check out the Earth to Sky Exhibit or join us for our upcoming Butterfly Festival. Find tickets and more details on our website: www.discoverimua.com https://lnkd.in/gWv3rbKe

We are thrilled to announce our 3rd annual Butterfly Festival set to take place on Saturday, September 21, 2024 from 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM at Imua Discovery Garden in Wailuku. Coinciding with World Peace Day, the event will be a special occasion to celebrate community, the beauty of nature and peace around the world. Now in its third installment, Imua’s Butterfly Festival has become a beloved community event that brings together families, friends, and nature enthusiasts to enjoy a day filled with activities, play, and fun. Attendees can look forward to butterfly releases, sculpture viewing, live music, garden walks, and opportunities to play together. “This year’s festival is especially meaningful as we celebrate World Peace Day alongside our love for butterflies,” says Dean Wong, Executive Director of Imua Family Services. “Butterflies symbolize transformation and hope – a perfect pairing with the message of peace and unity we aim to promote on World Peace Day.” Highlights of the Butterfly Festival will include: Butterfly Release: Share in a heartwarming butterfly experience with the release of butterflies to symbolize peace and new beginnings. Live Music & Entertainment: Families will be treated to lively music throughout the day by local musicians Marty Dread & Pat Simmons, Jr. Kids Activity Zone: Engage in an array of interactive activities, including animal experiences, face painting, crafts, and the Digital Bus mobile Science Van. Peace Day events: Rally Around Peace and other activities in partnership with the Teran James Young Foundation. Food Offerings: Savor a diverse selection of local food vendors and refreshments! The Imua Butterfly Festival is intended for families with young children between birth and age eight. Online pre-registration is required for a nominal $5.00, which covers the entire family. The festival highly recommends taking advantage of the free shuttle service, which will run continuously between the Maui Lani Safeway parking lot and the front gate of Imua Discovery Garden for the duration of the event. Imua Family Services extends its deepest gratitude to all sponsors, volunteers, and supporters who make the Butterfly Festival possible. Together, we can create a brighter future for families and children in Maui County. For additional information or to purchase tickets, visit https://lnkd.in/gkS-5dyN.

We are so pleased to be able to celebrate parents-to-be with our quarterly baby showers, held in partnership with Kaiser Permanente. Our next Oh Baby! gathering will be in November. These showers are intended for parents-to-be in their second and third trimester. Date details coming soon. https://lnkd.in/geYDtdEB

HawaiiUSA Federal Credit Union (HawaiiUSA) is celebrating the one-year anniversary of its Life Matters Collective, an inaugural partnership showcasing both long-standing business partnerships and valued community partners of Hawaii’s largest credit union. Last August, HawaiiUSA debuted the Collective, launching a collaboration with Maui ʻOma Coffee Roasting Company (Maui ʻOma) of Kahului in which a custom coffee blend was created and introduced to the market. Suitably named, Imua Coffee, the product was sold for proceeds to benefit Imua Family Services, a Maui nonprofit serving the early childhood development needs of children and their families by providing inclusive care services and play programs. Since the launch, sales from Imua Coffee have raised $19,118.40 and was donated to Imua Family Services to help the agency meet the ongoing costs of providing services in Maui County. The coffee was sold through Maui ʻOma’s website and retail locations as well as all HawaiiUSA branches statewide. Imua Family Services also sold the coffee at its Play Imua store in Maalaea, which opened last year in response to the Maui wildfires to provide a place where the children affected by the tragedy could “shop” for free toys and merchandise. Proceeds from that location also helped Imua Family Services meet their mission, especially during a difficult time on Maui. “This has been an extremely meaningful partnership and a good fit for not only our agency, but our demographic,” said Dean Wong, executive director of Imua Family Services. “The collective has enabled us to reach one of our goals of establishing partnerships with local businesses that benefit our community.” Maria Holmes, director of sales and marketing at Maui ʻOma, reflects on what the Collective has meant for her business amidst the coinciding anniversary of the Maui wildfires. “Maui ʻOma lost 34 customers in August 2023. The timing of this program helped us through a difficult period,” said Holmes. “The additional revenue helped us stay afloat during an unstable period and has served as a good model that led to further opportunities with other nonprofits on Maui,” she added. Reflecting on one year of the Life Matters Collective, Tanya Lee, VP of Member Growth Services at HawaiiUSA, said, “Last year’s devastation to Lahaina dramatically increased the needs of Imua Family Services to support impacted families.” She added, “The Collective launched at an opportune time to introduce an innovative opportunity to forge new community relationships between businesses and nonprofits that add value to their communities.” Imua Blend Coffee will continue to be available at all Maui ʻOma locations or online at: Mauioma.com/imua. Most HawaiiUSA locations on Maui, Kauai, Hawaii Island, and Oahu will also continue to sell the coffee until this fall. 

Last weekend we hosted our second shower for soon-to-be Moms at our Imua Discovery Garden in Wailuku. Mahalo to Hawaii Business Magazine for the elevating this event, presented in partnership with Kaiser Permanente. Read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/gcWzbRpa