Goodwill and Catholic Charities have grand openings

New Kapolei career training center

Goodwill Industries of Hawaii Inc. opened a new $13 million Goodwill Ohana Career and Learning Center in Kapolei, built to serve 1,600 Leeward Coast residents each year. U.S. Sen. Daniel K. Inouye, Lt. Gov. James "Duke" Aiona and Mayor Mufi Hannemann were among the guest speakers at the grand opening April 2 in the Kapolei Business Park.

Goodwill, which helps people find careers and become financially independent, hopes to start programs in May or June, according to Laura Kay Rand, vice president of corporate services. The center expects to place more than 1,200 participants in employment in a five-year period. One-third of Goodwill's clients live in the Leeward area, one of Oahu's fastest-growing communities. The center expects to create more than 150 staffing jobs.

Dedication of Clarence T.C. Ching Campus 

A dedication on March 31 hailed the acquisition and renovation of Catholic Charities Hawaii's new home, the Clarence T.C. Ching Campus in Makiki. The new 40,000-square-foot, 2.2-acre campus is on the grounds of the former First Presbyterian Church. The renovated facility will allow Catholic Charities to do something it couldn't do before: Take care of the 60,000 people it serves each year from a single location.

Until now, Catholic Charities programs have operated from five separate destinations on O'ahu. Since the various locations handle different programs, clients often ended up traveling from one place to another to get to the right one. The confusion was compounded for clients who require multiple program services. "When you walk through the doors of the Program Center here, you now have access to everything Catholic Charities does," said Jerry Rauckhorst, president and CEO of Catholic Charities Hawai'i. The new campus offers seven facilities and 30 different programs, including services for immigrants, the homeless, women, children and the elderly. Plus, Rauckhorst said Catholic Charities is also now capable of functioning as an all-purpose service clearinghouse, connecting people to organizations that offer services his facility doesn't provide.