Honokaa residents Miles Okumura and Lynn Higashi have been selected by AARP — the nonprofit organization for people 50 and older — to receive the 2024 AARP Hawaii Andrus Award for Community Service, the association’s most prestigious and visible state volunteer award for community service.
AARP Hawaii selected Okumura and Higashi for their remarkable service, which has greatly benefited the Hamakua Coast community of Honokaa and reflected the AARP’s vision and mission, and also inspired other volunteers.
Okumura and Higashi started The Feeding Our Keiki and Kupuna program with the Peace Committee of the Honokaa Hongwanji when they noticed children going hungry in their community five years ago.
The programs expanded to feed kupuna, including shut-ins, and Okumura, Higashi and a team of volunteers now deliver grocery bags and prepare food for about 550 people a week.
“The program fills AARP’s mission of empowering people to choose how they live as they age, not just by reducing grocery bills in a state where food costs can be 60% more than on the mainland, but also by enabling elders to better thrive at home through its program of volunteer meal and grocery delivery to local seniors,” said Lenly Lewis, a volunteer who nominated Okumura and Higashi. “Not to mention enabling volunteers to stay active and to use their talents and experience in new ways.”
The award was presented to Okumra and Higashi at AARP Hawaii’s annual volunteer recognition ceremony earlier this month on Oahu.
“This award acts as a symbol to the public that we can all work together for positive social change,” said Keali‘i Lopez, AARP Hawaii state director. “AARP has long valued the spirit of volunteerism, and the important contributions volunteers make to their communities, neighbors, and the programs they serve.”
The award also comes with a $1,000 donation to the charity of the recipient’s choice.
Recipients across the nation were chosen for their ability to enhance the lives of AARP members and prospective members, improve the community in or for which the work was performed, and inspire others to volunteer.
The award is named after AARP’s founder Ethel Percy Andrus, who once said: “It is only in the giving of oneself to others that we truly live.”