A Maui Economic Opportunity-led effort to collect long-sleeve shirts for farmworkers to protect them from pesticide and heat exposure netted 257 shirts from March 24 to 31 as part of an Association of Farmworker Opportunity Program national drive.
Goodwill, a reliable contributor for the last three years, was the largest donor with 150 shirts. Valley Isle Community Federal Credit Union provided 20 shirts and Ulupalakua Ranch, eight shirts. MEO Moloka‘i collected 10 shirts.
The shirts are distributed when MEO’s National Farmworker Jobs Program conducts Worker Protection Standard and Heat Stress Prevention training to farmworkers across the state. The trainings are among the many benefits NFJP offers to improve the lives of farmworkers.
The drive was held during Farmworker Awareness Week, which brought attention to the contributions of farmworkers and honors them.
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Isaac Pena-Parrilla, Valley Isle Community Credit Union Development Manager, holds up some of the 20 long-sleeve shirts donated to Maui Economic Opportunity’s National Farmworker Jobs Program. Goodwill was the largest single donor to the national long-sleeve shirt drive, held during Farmworker Awareness Week at the end of March. Also in the photo are NFJP’s Uilani Ah Chan (left) and Suzette Bacarro.
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MEO Moloka‘i collected 10 long-sleeve shirts for the drive. Branch Manager Mahie McPherson displays shirts collected for farmworkers.
