Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — His Excellency Kolio Tumanuvao Etuale, Bishop of the Diocese of Samoa Pago Pago presented Mr. Marvin Raps with an Appreciation Award this past Monday, July 31, in recognition of his service to Hope House during his tenure as the General Manager of Cost U Less, American Samoa.

Three years ago, Mr. Raps initiated a community service project to create monthly residual income to support the ongoing needs of Hope House operations. He reached out to business and professional colleagues in the community and garnered their agreement to make a monthly donation for Hope House to be deposited at CUL. This resulted in a monthly credit between $1,300 to $1,800 per month that was available for Hope House to use for food supplies for elderly meals; diapers or wipes for personal care and supplemental nutrition supplies such as Boost or Ensure.

Recognizing that Hope House requires these consumable items monthly, this residual fund helps to offset or reduce direct costs paid by the Diocese. Bishop Kolio and the Hope House Board Chairman Larry Sanitoa expressed their sincere thanks and appreciation to Mr. Raps for leading the initiative and especially to those who willingly participated monthly for this charitable cause. Specifically, we are grateful to David Yakim (Samoa Ford Motors); David Yakim and Elizabeth Paras (Samoa NAPA); Gary Walters (Harbor Maritime); Dave Buehler (TBAS); Charet Felix (Tropical Beverages); and Isabel Hudson (Moana o Sina).

BACKGROUND

Hope House is a ministry of the Diocese of Samoa Pago Pago to care for the elderly, disabled and vulnerable population of our community. Hope House operations rely on charitable donations from our church parishes, business community, government programs and civic organizations. The Hope House Board is preparing its Annual Golf Tournament and Raffle to benefit Hope House. Online donations can be made via PayPal to hopehouse684as@gmail.com.