Building Community at PCCC

Did you know? Touch A Heart began at Pearl City Community Church (PCCC) as a ministry to the homeless in 2004 and became a 501(c)(3) organization in 2007. It wasn't until 2012 when our then-board members approached Robin and Colin Kumabe about leading the organization and they humbly took on this new role. "PCCC and many in the community have always been gracious, generous, and willing to support Touch A Heart," Robin said. "PCCC was where we did our baking for Baker's Heart cookies, especially during the holidays, as we had their kitchen certified early on. Because of that, so many of the volunteers originally came from PCCC." Since Touch A Heart initially began with helping the homeless, PCCC volunteers provided GED tutoring and food as well as assistance with obtaining bus passes, scheduling doctor's appointments, and other tasks. We also received additional volunteer support with packaging our Baker's Heart cookies. Today, we have three core volunteers—Nadine, Frida, and Brian—who help on Wednesdays with organizing and delivering Kupuna and Family Meals. We also miss our dear friend and volunteer Stanley who passed away last year. We added PCCC as a second location to conduct additional cohorts of our foodservice internship program alongside the Kalihi Union Church (KUC) location. In March 2020, we consolidated our training and started Kupuna and Family Meals at KUC as PCCC's kitchen was closed, and have since been using PCCC as a pickup location only. We average about 35 meal sets and 30 desserts at PCCC, and hope to reach more residents on the Leeward side. Many customers have made our weekly pickups into a fun social event to connect with others. We also welcome new volunteers, especially those who can to deliver to Waipahu, Ewa Beach, Waianae, and/or Nanakuli. All of us at Touch A Heart extend our warm appreciation to the PCCC ohana and look forward to continuing to serve this wonderful community.