Page 5 - Hawaii Island MidWeek - July 13, 2022

Easterseals Hawai‘i: Still Going Strong After 75 Years
FROM PAGE 4
Fuller, who’s been working with Nate for five years now, notes that he’s made signif- icant improvements since being in the program.
seals Hawaiʻi as his “second home.”
“We don’t want to just up and find him a job, we want to help him find a career —something that he’s hap- py doing,” explains Fuller. “Once he lands a job, he will have employment services on the job to help him. As Nate becomes more confident and competent in the job, the employment services are designed to fade out so that he’s going to work without any type of support.”
things to say about Nate, he too, has a positive impression of Easterseals Hawaiʻi, add- ing that he enjoys working with Fuller because, as Nate puts it, “she’s perfect.”
pacity to explore additional service offerings.”
also able to be of service.” Fuller agrees. “I feel hon- ored to work for a company that does so much good in the community. I appreciate having the ability to make a positive impact on the lives
Nate’s mother, Julie Sejal- bo, mentions her son can ar- ticulate and express himself, but that sometimes he slurs his words. Fuller’s sugges- tion? Reading.
“We’re just glad that there’s this kind of service around here,” says Julie, an ʻEwa beach resident. “He really bloomed here. I’ m just glad that he came here five years ago. It was the best choice.”
The organization is able to provide its services at little to no cost to its program partic- ipants through funding from various sources such as pri- vate insurers and government agencies.
Maybe best of all, Easter- seals Hawaiʻi has created an environment where everyone feels like they belong.
Initially, Nate told Fuller that he preferred not to read. But after seeing other partic- ipants take pleasure in the task, he began to show inter- est, and now enjoys reading so much that he even volun- teers at a local preschool to read to keiki.
“It makes me feel very warm and it makes me feel very positive knowing that we make a positive impact in the lives of the people that we support,” Fuller adds. “But it’s not just us — it’s also Na- te’s determination, and I feel honored to work with him and with others like him.”
org to learn more about the nonprofit.
JULY 13, 2022 HAWAI‘I ISLAND MIDWEEK 5
“It is incredibly gratifying and humbling to be able to be part of that process,” Pet- tiford shares. “I get to really feel like I’m part of that and
of others.”
Visit eastersealshawaii.
“That really helped him a lot because he’s challenged too, to read the three-syllable words,” says Julie.
One of the most satisfying aspects of Fuller’s job is wit- nessing the development that participants exhibit through time.
She admits that if her son was with a different organi- zation, he likely would have been just another number — just another participant in the system. Instead, with Easter- seals Hawaiʻi, Nate is treated like family. Julie shares that she’s noticed how the orga- nization’s “personal touch” has helped her son thrive and that he even refers to Easter-
“One of the ways that peo- ple can do this is to consider hiring individuals with dis- abilities,” Pettiford says.
“Seeing how much Nate has grown in the past few years — I feel happy that he has a more fulfilling life be- cause he has discovered that there are many more things that he can do. To see all of the participants become thriving members of their community is something that means a lot to me.”
“Another thing that do- nated dollars can go to is technology,” Pettiford adds. “Sometimes we can do more and interesting things in the program with better tech- nology. It gives us some ca-
As CEO, Pettiford en- joys hearing success stories. While the organization and its participants continue to flourish, Pettiford encourag- es the community as a whole to keep inclusivity at top of mind.
“There’s a lot of oppor- tunity offered to him,” Julie says of her 33-year-old son. “It really is a very positive outcome for him.”
With that said, to ensure Easterseals Hawaiʻi’s ser- vices are accessible to as many people as possible, the organization welcomes pub- lic donations. For its 75th anniversary, Easterseals Ha- waiʻi is fundraising to sup- port its adult programming. Donors can specify how they’ d like their contribu- tions to be used, whether it’s toward things like supplies for participants or even to- ward the construction of new spaces.
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On that note, another area that Easterseals Hawaiʻi is assisting Nate in is career development and job place- ment.
Just as Fuller has great
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Most realize by now that, these days, the public has access to the listings in our Multiple Listing Service. In fact, you can go to my website and link to it in two shakes. Specific address information is omitted but other than that it’s basically all there. For obvious reasons, not all REALTORS® totally embraced this idea
at first. The current debate focuses on whether technology will eventually envelope the industry to the point the agent is no longer needed. This extends not only to REALTORS® but to lenders and appraisers as well. Buying a home on the Big Island can be tricky. Unless intimately familiar with all neighborhoods, buyers would be wise to work with a seasoned agent.
When it comes to the loan process, it may surprise you to know, for example, that appraisers are not always required to go into the home you are purchasing. Some loan programs do not require it. It’s fast but not necessarily efficient. Some issues affecting value, such as un-permitted or un-finished areas, may not be visible from the street. Likewise, with a lender. The real value of a good lender is “packaging”. Your loan packet is like fine art. The better the picture, the better the rate. Like your real estate agent, the more your loan officer knows the local nuances, the better. It’s impossible for a computer-generated loan to do the kind of packaging that includes local idiosyncrasies. It’s convenient, but not always efficient. Since it all starts with that first call to the Real Estate Agent, it
can certainly be inferred from the above illustrations that speed and convenience in the largest transaction in your entire life (well, except for that marriage thing) may not always serve your best interest! So, beam me up Scotty...and if you bring me back as a Robot Realtor, please, nix the freckles! P.S. Speaking of freckles, I apologize for the delay in the market update. Some are aware that I have joined others in my family in the breast cancer struggle. I’m doing very well but did have surgery 4 days ago. I’ll get the update done this week. I think we’ll find lots of surprises in the numbers...but, for now, my big surprise is that my ever-present, signature red hair is coming back black....but my freckles, well, they are still there!!
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