HYSN and Healthy Mothers Healthy Babies Coalition worked together to garner a Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation AIM FOR EXCELLENCE AWARD. The Weinberg Foundation contacted past award winners and asked them to share what had happened with the programs of projects since their award. Rose Schilt, former Executive Director of Healthy Mothers Healthy Babies Coalition HMHB won an award in 2000 for work on teen pregnancy. She determined that HMHB was no longer working in teen pregnancy prevention and that HYSN had taken coalition-building anc capacity-building in teen pregnancy prevention to the nect level. HYSN was the happy recipient of a $5,000 award.

Recently, HYSN created a “YOUTH WORKER OF THE MONTH” feature in out electronic newsletter and invited all of our members to send in their nominations so far, 3 youth workers have been recognized by their colleagues, including:

• Tyler Kurashige, from Big Brothers Big Sisters of Honolulu
• Hilary Faris, a Youth Advocate at Hale Kipa;
• Kathleen Stofecik, Health Educator at Planned Parenthood of Hawaii;
  

A number of HYSN members have been recognized for their outstanding work by other organizations in the past year and we would like to acknowledge them here:

• Hawaii’s Outstanding Advocates for Children and Youth Award winners included Michael B. Wood who donated $1 million to Family Programs Hawaii for a shelter for abused children and Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Honolulu received an award for its long term youth development mentoring programs.
• Midweek’s Local Heroes Awards to Cheryl Johnson, PACT; Hiro Ito, Kids Hurt Too; and John Sotelo, Hina Mauka.
• National Association of Social Workers, Hawaii Chapter honored Linda Rich, Salvation Army Family Treatment Services with the Lifetime Achievement Award and Betty Lou Larsen, Catholic Charities Hawaii as Social Workers of the Year in Social Justice and Advocacy.
• Life Foundation was named on of Hawaii’s Best Places to Work by Hawaii Business Magazine.
• Reading is Fundamental named Family Support Services of West Hawaii as the Program of the Month for June.
• The Pacific Business News Forty Under 40 awards program on Thursday, June 17 at the Hawaii Convention Center honored 40 of Hawaii’s best and brightest young businessmen and businesswomen, including Sheri Daniels, Maui administration, Child and Family Service.

Some of HYSN;s public Policy and Advocacy efforts include:

• Children and Youth Summit – 300 young people attended this a full day event sponsored by the Keiki Caucus of the Hawaii State Legislature, HYSN, and other children and youth organizations. Provided opportunities for interested persons, including youth, to identify key issues affecting children and youth and recommended legislative actions.
• HYSN delegation of youth and service providers visited Hawaii’s US senators and representatives. The youth presented material on the need for more funding for public schools to prevent furlough days, the pros and cons of fixed rail transportation and the need for more controls on tobacco advertising
• Testimony on bills and resolutions on teen pregnancy prevention; right for minors to consent for youth shelter admission; Increasing excise tax with funds to go to education, health, and human services; and the need to separate Pacific Islanders from Asians in national data collection.