Aloha [First Name],

Happy New Year! Hauoli Makahiki Hou! It's that time of year again... Time to start the year off right ‹ exercise, clean the garage, and finally swear off fast food and too-much TV.

Feeling motivated? Here are a few easy resolutions to kick start your 2009--things you can commit to do that will help keep Hawai`i healthy, green, and uniquely Hawaiian!

Get Involved
Take Action, Spread the Work and Stay Informed!
Resolve to make your voice heard this year.  Sign a petition, send a letter, submit testimony to help participate in decision making that effects us all. Taking action with KAHEA is easy to do. Just click & send!

Here are a few to get you started:

    * Tell the Federal Government to do more to protect the endangered Hawaiian monk seal. Help keep Hawaii's shorelines healthy and accessible for monk seals, surfers, and fishers, too. Click here to sign the petition.

    * Keep up the vigilance to protect the NWHI. Your support successfully upheld conservation as the purpose of the Monument. We now we have a chance to ensure research conducted there is responsible and pono--done in the right way, at the right time, for the right reasons. Click here to sign the petition.

Akahele! Legislative session begins next week.
January 21st is the Opening Day of Hawaii's State Legislature. KAHEA will keep you informed on the status of important proposals and relevant hearings at the Capitol, including:  Upholding Public Rights to Beach Access, GMO-free Taro, and Protections for the Summit of Mauna Kea.

Be on the lookout, and participate in the legislative process with KAHEA on-line testimony tables, newsletters, and action alerts. 

Volunteer!
E Kokua Mai...
Come help out! Doesn't matter if it's for an hour, a semester, or whenever can.  Doesn't matter if it's basic office work, support at community events all over the islands, making hand-printed t-shirts & posters, distributing informational materials in your community, or an academic research internship. To continue to accomplish the critical task of protecting Hawai'i nei, this work needs all the hands can get! 

Added bonus: we'll help you develop skills and knowledge useful for advancing your professional career and improving your community. Volunteering and interning at KAHEA offers many personal, educational, and professional opportunities to participate in community-based efforts to protect Hawai'i and perpetuate our unique culture.

From one volunteer: "The work that this organization does isn't run of the mill. Helping Hawai'i isn't only being on the front lines at a rally or festival, its also about being in the trenches. From folding brochures to educating the unaware, volunteering with the amazing people who work at KAHEA makes yourself grow as a person as well."

Please contact us to volunteer or apply for an academic internship. Find us at 808-524-8220, kahea-alliance@hawaii.rr.com or 1149 Bethel Street in Honolulu.

Re-Gift!
Got stuff? Why not re-gift it?
While you're cleaning out your garage/closets/yard for 2009, please keep KAHEA in mind! The effort to protect Hawai'i nei requires a lot of supplies. Why trash it, when we could use it?

Here's our re-Gift Wish List (in case you'd like to check it twice!):

- Blank CDs & DVDs
- DVD burner
- Copier that double-sides, collates & staples (**super essential)
- Lightweight tall stools, folding
- Eco-friendly binders, clipboards, paper & office supplies
- Gas-cards
- Lauhala baskets and mats, all sizes
- Wood & Lauhala Picture frames
- Plane ticket vouchers
- Projector screen, folding & transportable
- Plastic storage bins & tubs, all sizes
- Books & art/posters about Hawaiian cultural and environmental knowledge, traditions, history & current issues.
- Computer network support
- 10'x20' or 10'x10' Tent
- Long plastic tables that fold in half
- Futon couch (after all, our office is a home away from home)

Call or email us if you'd like to make a donation!  Contact us at 808-524-8220, kahea-alliance@hawaii.rr.com. All gifts to KAHEA are tax-deductible.

You can also make a monetary donation--every bit helps. Last year, well over 300 gave to KAHEA, making everything that happened in 2008 possible! 

A regular donation of $10 a month is enough to publish and distribute 1,000 educational brochures. There's no such thing as small change! Click here to donate on-line using a credit card, or mail your contribution to: 1149 Bethel St., #415, Honolulu, HI  96813.

When you give, you invest in a happier & healthier future for the people and lands of Hawai'i nei.

Wishing you a healthy & happy Makahiki season,
Us Guys at KAHEA: The Hawaiian-Environmental Alliance

www.kahea.org
blog.kahea.org
phone: 808-524-8220

About KAHEA
KAHEA: the Hawaiian-Environmental Alliance is a network of thousands of diverse individuals islands-wide and around the world. We work to secure the strongest possible protections for Hawaii's most ecologically unique and culturally sacred places and resources.