Frank De Lima to host Student Enrichment Program in January, February

Frank De Lima, one of Hawaii’s most popular and beloved comedians, will present a Student Enrichment Program in January and February. The Exchange Club of Hilo, whose national initiative is the Prevention of Child Abuse, is one of the sponsors of this program.

In 1980, De Lima founded the Frank De Lima Student Enrichment Program, a nonprofit organization to provide drug education and drug abuse prevention services to Hawaii’s youth.

The primary message of the program is the importance of reading, studying, laughing, family and the development of positive attitudes during the early school years. Without proper support and education, wrong decisions could be made including drugs, peer pressure, bullying and other destructive actions that could have potentially damaging long term effects on Hawaii’s keiki.

In January and February, De Lima will visit 18 schools on the Big Island and speak to 4,500 students to relay this message. School visits are arranged with the Department of Education and comprised of two components.

The elementary school program stresses the importance of reading, studying, laughing and family conveyed in a fun yet meaningful manner.

The intermediate/middle school program discusses the trials of “growing up” and the emotional “diseases” — also known in pidgin as “tidah-itis” and “blahlah-itis” — that commonly are associated with this age group.

These discussions are geared toward assisting students in having a positive attitude that can improve school and home life.

Since inception of the Student Enrichment Program, De Lima’s visits have increased to 350 schools statewide biennially. In honor of his commitment to Hawaii’s keiki, he has received numerous honors, including Gov. Ben Cayetano’s Kilohana Award for Volunteer of the Year and the Ellison Onizuka Memorial Award from the National Education Association.

For more information, contact Lorraine Godoy at 990-6596.