The 13th annual YWCA Remarkable People ceremony and luncheon on Thursday honored longtime community advocates Carol Ignacio and Irene Nagao for their decades of commitment and compassion.
As a full-time social justice organizer for the Catholic church, Ignacio pioneered numerous grassroots initiatives to aid the hungry, unhoused, formerly incarcerated and unemployed.
Among her accomplishments was the founding of the first homeless shelter in Hilo, the Hawaii Island Food Bank, now The Food Basket, and the Care-A-Van program, which delivers aid to the houseless population living in remote areas on the island.
Ignacio also opened the Kawaihae Transitional Housing family shelter in 1992 and started employment programs for workers left jobless after the closing of the Hamakua Sugar Company. In 2010, HOPE Services Hawaii was created to oversee the many programs she helped start.
Nagao worked at JC Penney in Hilo for many years until the death of her husband, Kenji, which was followed by the murder of her son, Steven, a year later. She took an early retirement to care for his 7-year-old son.
Nagao was devastated but she decided to channel her grief into her desire to help others, which was first seen through her work with women and high school students as she taught them how to dress professionally for the workplace.
She enjoyed working with students to the point that she went on to head the education committees of the Hawaii Island Chamber of Commerce and the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and served on the Junior Achievement board for more than 25 years.
After working and speaking inside East Hawaii prison facilities, Nagao helped start Going Home, the program to assist men, women and youth with reintegration upon release from correctional institutions.
She also co-founded STARS, a support group for families who have lost a loved one by homicide.
The annual event will continue to recognize the contributions people have made to the community while raising funds for the YWCA, which provides sexual assault support services and a 24/7 hotline, a healthy families program, and an accredited, developmental preschool for all families.
For more information, visit ywcahawaiiisland.org/.