Pacific Gateway Center Anniversary
Honolulu Advertiser.Com
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
The nine monks chanting added to the auspicious day for the Pacific Gateway Center, formerly known as the Immigrant Center. It helps low-income residents and immigrants build job and business skills. It's also an incubator for small businesses and has its Lemongrass Cafe on site at 83 N. King St.The monks were served lunch after the chanting. Rev. Inpeng Siphanthorn blessed the people and the center on its 35th anniversary
At the Pacific Gateway Center, Rev. Inpeng Siphanthorn led a Buddhist chant by nine monks on the date 9/9/09 — considered auspicious. Also helping mark the center's 35th anniversary, the center said, were Solomon Borabora, who gave a Hawaiian blessing, and Marshallese singers Jennie D. Leit, Lynnie Lucky and Kacy Lucky
Lemon Grass Offers Food of Minorities
Excerpts from The Weekly Eater By Nadine Kam
In the online world, the wisdom "Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime," is alternately credited to Jesus, Confucius and authors unknown. No matter who thought or said it first, I believe it holds up to this day, and so does the staff at Pacific Gateway Center. They're actively putting this idea into practice as a nonprofit "community development financial institution" that helps low-income entrepreneurs start and run their own businesses with the aim of becoming self-sufficient, contributing members of the community.
Five years ago, the center opened an incubator kitchen to help aspiring food purveyors bottle and package their products, while meeting state health food-safety requirements. The center has since opened a retail incubator storefront on King Street, between Smith and Maunakea. here, shoppers can purchase hand-crafted items such as wood turned bowls, ceramic ware and jewelry, as well as incubator-developed food seasonings, lilikoi syrup, coffee and fudge sauce. And a month ago they opened Lemon Grass Cafe within the same space to help bring traffic to the small shop.It's a beautiful space, cool and cavernous with the tall ceilings and red brick walls of old Chinatown. The cafe part of the equation is in the back of the room, while up front left is the shop area and at right is the Pacific Gateway Center "office," a series of desks where they conduct the business of teaching others to fish."It's part of our social enterprise strategy," said Executive Director Dr. Tin Myaing Thein. "Whatever income we get supports our social services projects, including providing emergency rent, language interpretation and helping refugees." Incubating dreamsFledgling businesses start cooking by using Pacific Gateway Center's incubator kitchens
By Betty Shimabukuro
bshimabukuro@starbulletin.com
THEY SAY you have to spend money to make money. But what if you have nothing to spend? If your dream lies in food service, the upfront costs of setting yourself up in a certified commercial kitchen can be insurmountable. This is where the Pacific Gateway Center's incubator kitchens come in.more...
Ho'okeles recognize community leaders
By Pat Gee
pgee@starbulletin.com
The Hawaii Community Foundation honored leaders of nonprofit organizations with 2006 Ho'okele Awards, valued at $10,000 each, yesterday for their contributions to the community more...