Get Ready Hawai‘i

12/16/2025

Each year at Christmas, Get Ready Hawaii holds the Dear Santa Christmas Gift Project, striving to provide Christmas gifts to children in West Hawaii who otherwise may go without during the holiday season. This year we are thankful for the support of KBXtreme and Chubby's Diner in raising funds for this project. Through the end of the month when you make a purchase at Chubby's Diner, you can make a donation to the Dear Santa project. Dine in, carry out, or order online, and help out a great cause while enjoying a great meal!

10/09/2025

The 32nd Annual Hawaii Children & Youth Summit was successfully completed yesterday, with more than 150 youth and young adults taking part. Mahalo to Hawaiʻi State Representative Lisa Marten and Senator Karl Rhoads for taking the time to participate in the town-hall discussion opening the summit!

Voting is now open to rank this year's priorities. Please visit https://2025.hawaiicys.org/vote to vote to rank priorities. You can also visit www.hawaiicys.org if you would like to view videos related to some of the topics discussed to learn more.

Videos of this year's opening and closing sessions will be available on the Hawaii Children and Youth Summit website in the next few days, if you would like to review the group discussions or the priority presentations.

08/05/2025

Get Ready Hawai‘i is proud to once again be a planning partner for the 32nd annual Hawaii Children and Youth Summit which will be held October 7, 2025 at the State of Hawaii Capital. Registration info will be posted soon. More info is available at www.hawaiicys.org

08/05/2025

Get Ready Hawaii is proud to once again be one of the partners in planning the 32nd annual Hawaii Children & Youth Summit to be held Tuesday, October 7 2025 at the State of Hawaii Capital!

Save the date for the 32nd Annual Hawaii Children and Youth Summit, this year being held on Tuesday, October 7, 2025 at the Hawaii State Capital. Youth and young adults 24 and under are invited to take part and share their thoughts on ways to make Hawaii a better place to live, learn, and work for young people. Breakfast and lunch included. Travel scholarships available for interisland travel. Registration information will be available soon. Visit www.hawaiicys.org for more information.

05/17/2025

Hey everyone, get your tickets today for tomorrow's Liv-a-Little Drag Bingo Benefiting Get Ready Hawaii at My Bar Kona! $10 gets you in and your first bingo card. Have a great time wile helping us to raise funds for our annual Get Ready For School back to school drive providing backpacks, Chromebooks, and school supplies to children in need in West Hawaii! Grand prize is a manta snorkel for two from Big Island Divers; other prizes include gourmet cupcakes, neon signs, and a brand new air fryer!

02/01/2025

It is more important now than it has perhaps ever been that we recognize the contributions of minorities within the history of the United States. With this in mind, Get Ready Hawaii could think of no better way to kick off Black History Month (whether the federal government recognizes it or not) than by recognizing the contributions of Black Americans and the Black Panther Party for establishing free breakfasts for school children! Their work fed thousands of impoverished children and laid the foundation for current programs striving to ensure that children in school are able to access healthy meals!

In January, 1969, the Free Breakfast for School Children Program was initiated at St. Augustine's Church in Oakland by the Black Panther Party. The Panthers would cook and serve food to the poor inner city youth of the area. Initially run out of a St. Augustine's Church in Oakland, the Program became so popular that by the end of the year, the Panthers set up kitchens in cities across the nation, feeding over 10,000 children every day before they went to schoolPhoto: Nancy Thompson ,Black Panthers' Free Breakfast for Children' program (Oakland, 1971)

12/08/2024

Join Get Ready Hawai‘i and My Bar Kona today for Liv-A-Little Drag Bingo Benefiting Get Ready Hawaii at 4:00. Tickets are $10 and include first bingo card. Additional bingo cards available for $5. All proceeds support Get Ready Hawaii's annual Christmas Gift Project for children in need in West Hawaii. Today's prizes are cookies and cupcakes lovingly baked by Executive Director Jeff Gourley (well, except the grand prize - he couldn't find a recipe for a swim with the Mantas, so that was donated by Big Island Divers)

10/24/2024

Aloha all supporters of Get Ready Hawaii! If you have been planning on taking part in the planned paint-n-sip fundraiser tomorrow, October 24, 2024 at My Bar Kona, we have unfortunately been forced to cancel this event due to circumstances beyond our control.

Please visit www.getreadyhawaii.org in the near future for our updated schedule of Paint-n-Sip events.

Get Ready Hawai‘i is a tradename of Friends of the Children of West Hawai‘i. We are a non-profit organization ensuring that the youth of our community are READY for the challenges of life through Resilience, Enrichment, Advocacy, and Developmental Programs for Youth in Hawai‘i.

08/20/2024

Only 2 days until our next Get Ready Hawai‘i Paint-n-Sip event, Dark Water; A Get Ready Hawaii Paint-n-Sip Fundraising Event! Come join us at My Bar Kona this Thursday, August 22 at 7:30 for this fun painting of a waterfall on a black primed canvas. Tickets are $50 and include supplies, instruction, and your first beverage. Returning painters can save $5 off their ticket for each new painter they recruit to take part!

08/13/2024

We have scheduled our next three Get Ready Hawai‘i Paint-n-Sips raising funds for Resilience, Enrichment, Advocacy, and Developmental Services for Youth in Hawaii.

Thursday, August 22 join us for Dark Water; A Get Ready Hawaii Paint-n-Sip Fundraising Event

Thursday, September 12 will be Kona Pride; A Get Ready Hawaii Paint-n-Sip Fundraising Event

Thursday, September 26 will be Pololu Sunrise; A Get Ready Hawaii Paint-n-Sip Fundraising Event

Get Ready Hawaii holds Paint-n-Sip fundraisers the second and fourth Thursday of each month at My Bar Kona. Tickets are $50 and include admission, art supplies, and your first beverage from the bar. Returning artists can save $5 off admission for each new participant you recruit! For the full schedule of Get Ready Hawaii Paint-n-Sips visit www.getreadyhawaii.org

08/06/2024

Our next Get Ready Hawaii Paint-n-Sip event is this Thursday, August 8 at 7:30 PM at My Bar Kona. This week's painting is a scenic view of Pololu Valley at sunrise, led by original artist and Get Ready Hawaii Executive Director Jeff Gourley. Tickets are $50 and include admission, necessary supplies, and first beverage from the bar. Returning painters can save $5 off admission for each new painter recruited to come with you! All proceeds support our mission of ensuring that the youth of our community are READY for the challenges of life through Resilience, Enrichment, Advocacy, and Developmental services for Youth of Hawaii.

07/18/2024

Get Ready Hawaii has our next 2 Paint-n-Sip fundraisers scheduled and tickets are on sale!

Thursday, July 25 join us for Polynesian Sunset - @ Paint-n-Sip Fundraising Event - a painting of a beautiful ocean sunset with a Polynesian voyaging canoe silhouetted on the horizon.

Thursday, August 8 come out for Pololu Sunrise; A Paint-n-Sip Fundraising Event - a painting featuring the vibrant colors of the sunrise over Pololu Valley in North Kohala

Get Ready Hawaii holds Paint-n-Sips the 2nd and 4th Thursday each month at My Bar Kona. Tickets are $50 and include admission, instruction, supplies, and your first beverage. All proceeds from ticket sales support our mission of ensuring that youth are READY for the challenges of life through Resilience, Enrichment, Advocacy, and Developmental services for Youth in Hawaii. For more information visit www.getreadyhawaii.org