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1950 - 2020
A Legacy of Service in the Pursuit of Fairness and Justice
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Legal Aid Celebrates 70 Years of Serving the Community
A Legacy of Service in the Pursuit of Fairness and Justice
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70th Anniversary (1950 - 2020)
As part of its year long 70th Anniversary activities, Legal Aid will share 70 tidbits about its history throughout the year. Thank you to the longest continuously serving Legal Aid Board Member (1999-2020) Naomi Fujimoto for providing the following tidbits.
Did you know?
1. Legal Aid is the only statewide provider of civil legal services serving our low-income community members with at least one office on each of the major Hawaiian islands.
2. Legal Aid is Hawaii's oldest and largest non-profit, public interest law firm.
3. Judge Betty M. Vitousek drafted the proposal to create the Legal Aid Society of Hawaii in 1950. Her son, Randy Vitousek, Esq., shared, "Part of the lore of our family is that in 1950 our mom drafted the need statement for the formation of the Legal Aid Society and literally dropped the memorandum off at the CJ's [Chief Justice] office on her way to Kapiolani Hospital to deliver me."
4. Legal Aid was incorporated on December 1, 1950; the charter was issued by the Treasurer of The Territory of Hawaii empowering C. Nils Tavares as President, Thomas Waddoups as Vice-President, Betty Vitousek as Secretary, and Ronald Jamieson as Treasurer.
5. The doors opened to the first Legal Aid office on March 12, 1951 on the premises of the Better Business Bureau on Alakea Street.
Throughout 2020, Legal Aid will hosts various events to commemorate its history, honor the impact of its alumni, and share more about current priorities. Stay tuned for upcoming events near you. Follow on social media, hashtags #LegalAidHawaii70 #70for70.
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Calling All Legal Aid Alumni
As we commemorate 70 years of working towards access to justice for all, we hope to hear from our alumni and honor and celebrate those who have paved the way for Legal Aid to be where it is today. If you spent any time working or volunteering at Legal Aid, p
lease take a moment to fill out this quick survey:
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#LegalAidhelps
"Because of Legal Aid's help, I am now working 40hrs. per week towards stability in my life and my morale has definitely increased.
"
Before I came to Legal Aid I was desperately in need of getting my state ID quickly or I would a job I had worked hard to get. My ID was expired, I had no money for it and it had been stolen.
Legal Aid helped me by paying for my ID and helping me get it quickly so I now have the job I needed it for. I would like to mention that Macy went with me at 7:45 am on a Friday then after being next in line we were turned away. On Monday morning, Noelle went with me again and once more we were turned away. She then went with me all the way to Ko'olau and waited until 5 pm ensuring that I received my ID that day. Her supervisor could have recalled her but thankfully did not and was even willing to write my job a letter explaining the circumstances should I not get my ID that day in the hopes my job would be saved. Macy, Noelle, and their supervisor [Connie] went above and beyond to help me for which I am so grateful.
I would also like to mention that every time I felt discouraged and wanted to give up, Macy and Noelle gave me encouragement. I wasn't alone.
Because of Legal Aid's help, I am now working 40hrs. per week towards stability in my life and my morale has definitely increased. Getting one's ID may seem like something small and trivial but for me it was a big deal. Also because of Legal Aid helping me get my state ID, I was able to take the written test for my driver's license - I passed - and am looking forward to doing my road test within the next year and getting my driver's license. That means I can take a second job or a higher paying job if I choose; the bottom line is I have opportunities that weren't available to me before, all because of Legal Aid.
I walked into Legal Aid confused, frustrated and feeling hopeless and the Legal Aid team cared about me as a person and took my situation seriously. Legal Aid is not like the majority of other non-profit teams I've encountered; the Legal Aid team treats those that they help as if they themselves were in need. Mahalo Legal Aid for being there for me.
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Joelle was helped by
Macy, Legal Aid AmeriCorps Advocate, in getting her state ID.
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Thank you!!
Justice Campaign 2016 - 2019 Donors
Thank you to the law firms, businesses, and individuals for supporting our 4 year Justice Campaign. Your support is leading the way towards providing access to justice for those in need.
Blaine Rogers
Bronster Fujichaku Robbins
Carlsmith Ball LLP
Corianne Lau
Cronin, Fried, Sekiya, Kekina & Fairbanks
Dentons US LLP
Gary Y. Murai
Goodsill Anderson Quinn & Stifel LLP
Hawaii Gas
Hawaiian Electric Company
Island Insurance Foundation
Jodi Yamamoto
Marr Jones Wang LLP
Michael Cruise
Rod Aoki
SSFM International
Tricia Nakamatsu
Yamamoto & Caliboso
Mahalo!
A big thank you to all the donors whose generosity helped the Legal Aid Society of Hawaii surpass its original goal of raising $20,000 for its End of the Year Campaign!
Anonymous
The Cades Foundation
Cori Lau of Dentons US LLP
Danelle Knapp
Joseph Kobayashi
Justina Acevedo-Cross
Kurt Leong
Muriel Fujii
R. Malia Taum-Deenik
Regan Iwao
Robert LeClair
Robert Fricke
Sandy Shishido
Sara Silverman
Scott Gronek
Susan Haruki
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In the Community
Legal Aid Health Navigators help residents apply for insurance during open enrollment period
Health Navigator Sepe Mongkeya helps an applicant sign up for health insurance.
Last December, Legal Aid Health Navigators Cinder Sonis and Noelle Kakimoto joined MedQUEST for a pop-up open enrollment event at the Kauai District Health Office. Med-QUEST focused primarily on Medicaid applications and/or denials, while Legal Aid staff worked on Marketplace applications or renewals. Eleven people received assistance from Legal Aid staff. Due to the quality of work, the Kauai District Health Office offered to host future outreaches. -Connie Liu, Managing Attorney for Community Engagement
Legal Aid's Health Navigators stay "cool" during health insurance open enrollment period in December.
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Interested in Joining the Legal Aid Team
Legal Aid Staff Positions Available
The Legal Aid Society of Hawaii, a non-profit law firm, endeavors to provide civil legal services throughout the State of Hawaii to those most in need. Our mission is to address critical legal needs through high quality legal advocacy, outreach and education in the pursuit of fairness and justice. Our team of dedicated advocates come to work every day with a purposeful desire to help and serve our community.
Our organization embraces work life balance by offering our team a structured work week designed to achieve work excellence and ample time off to recharge, refresh and pursue individual passions. We offer an extremely generous benefit package which includes 21 days of vacation, 12 days of sick leave and 14 holidays a year. We are also proud to be the industry leader in offering 8 weeks of fully paid parental leave for qualified employees.
If working in a meaningful and rewarding environment is what you're searching for, and if you have been desiring work life balance, please review the positions and requirements below by visiting www.legalaidhawaii.org.
To apply for a position: Please submit a cover letter, resume, and contact information for three professional references to jobs@legalaidhawaii.org. The Legal Aid Society of Hawaii is an Equal Opportunity Employer. No telephone calls please.
- Intake Attorney- Honolulu, Part-time
- Managing Attorney - Kona, Hawaii
- Immigration Paralegal - Honolulu
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