Our Awesome Project is to host a special needs Halloween Dance Party for high school students and young adults with disabilities.

There is an underserved and growing population of keiki and young adults with developmental disabilities like autism and down syndrome. Over 14% of graduating students have some type of special need. (cdc.gov) Autism is the fastest growing developmental disability and now affects 1 in 59 individuals.

To build an more inclusive community and show love to our disabled youth, Hawaii Autism Foundation (HAF) and Kahumana hosted its first halloween party last year which was a huge success. There were 89 pre-registered guests from special needs families and over 120 people in attendance. For the 2018 party, we think the number will grow to 150 attendees from special needs ohana at a cost around $10.50 per person. The party will be hosted on church grounds where HAF & Kahumana Learning Center (KLC) runs an adult day health program.

The grant money will go towards:
-Buying light dinner food, healthy side dishes, finger foods, water, soft drinks and juice.
- Purchasing more decor. The Ice Place let us borrow Halloween decorations and we will reuse some supplies from last year, but we need more decor to fill the room.
- Supplying candy for “Trunk & Treat.” Volunteers are decorating car trunks and handing out candy from their trunks.
- Purchasing games so attendees can play on a break from dancing.

Testimonies: One young man entering the party looked around at the kids & shouted out with joy “they’re all JUST LIKE ME”. He kept saying it with a sense of wonder. Some parents shared their keiki hadn't attended a social event in years.