Sorting and Serving with Compassion
Hawaii Foodbank
Miss Ala Moana Plus Rina Patel-Jerls learned from an early age to not only take care of herself, but to also care for others.
Service has long been a cornerstone of Rina Patel-Jerls’ life. She began volunteering in high school, supporting her community through her involvement in activities such as food drives and coaching children’s sports. Rina currently works as a pediatric and prenatal chiropractor and volunteers weekly at Hawaiʻi Foodbank, where she helps sort donated food items.
“Food is my love language,” Rina says. “Especially cooking. My mom passed everything down to me, and, even though this is just sorting dry goods and cans, itʻs a way for me to show acts of service and give back. Thatʻs the way I love, and thatʻs how I show that I care.”
“We fill multiple pallets organizing meals and other foods, and you see how much that can help.”
When Rina relocated to Hawaiʻi three years ago, the pandemic shutdown made it difficult for her to meet people. So, she became active by volunteering with her church. This experience helped shed light on the level of need in her community – especially with those affected by hunger. “I work on the West Side, and see the struggle of [people] working two or three jobs and having such a hard time to just pay for basic needs,” Rina explains. Wanting to do more, she signed up to help at Hawaiʻi Foodbank’s warehouse.
Rina’s heart for service shines through in everything she does. In high school and college, she always made time for community service, and she carries that same dedication into her current role as Miss Ala Moana Plus in the Miss Hawai‘i Plus pageant.
When Rina relocated to Hawaiʻi three years ago, the pandemic shutdown made it difficult for her to meet people. So, she became active by volunteering with her church. This experience helped shed light on the level of need in her community – especially with those affected by hunger. “I work on the West Side, and see the struggle of [people] working two or three jobs and having such a hard time to just pay for basic needs,” Rina explains. Wanting to do more, she signed up to help at Hawaiʻi Foodbank’s warehouse.
Rina’s heart for service shines through in everything she does. In high school and college, she always made time for community service, and she carries that same dedication into her current role as Miss Ala Moana Plus in the Miss Hawai‘i Plus pageant.
Rina continually finds herself searching for opportunities to utilize her platform in a way that positively impacts others – whether it is making new friends, promoting self-care and love, or sharing her volunteer experiences with organizations like Hawai‘i Foodbank.
Her advice for those considering volunteering is to invite a friend along to double the impact and make the experience even more gratifying.
“Even if it’s just something small like this, volunteering two hours, it shows a great impact of how much you can get done in that time,” explains Rina. “Honestly, it’s really rewarding to see. You might not even see the people who receive the food, but you see how much you’re moving in such a short amount of time. We fill multiple pallets organizing meals and other foods, and you see how much that can help.”
“Everyone has two hours of their day that they can sacrifice throughout their whole entire week to help someone else.”
While volunteer service is a part of the Miss Hawai‘i Plus pageant, contestants are encouraged to continue volunteering after the competition is over. For Rina, there’s no question that she’ll keep her weekly schedule at the warehouse. This dedication has inspired other Miss Plus contestants to join her in volunteering, as well.
As for her own inspiration, Rina credits her family for teaching her the importance of giving back to her community early on. It makes her smile as she now gets to share this opportunity with other young people.
“Itʻs opened my eyes to so many different opportunities, especially the kids who come in. They help out, too, even though they’re half distracted and have all this energy,” she explains as she watches the middle school class that she often volunteers alongside. “But it’s good to see them giving back – because everything starts at an early age. And if I didn’t have that instilled in me when I was younger, I probably wouldn’t be this way today.”
As a child, Rina’s mother told her to never skip a meal and to make sure she always took care of herself. It’s a lesson she’s never forgotten, and it’s a lesson she now extends towards others, too. “That has always stuck with me,” Rina reflects. “If I’m full, why not make sure someone else is, too?”
Hawaiʻi Foodbank volunteers worked 6,822 shifts in 2022 for a total of 23,892 hours of service. To join Rina and our other dedicated volunteers in helping nourish our ʻohana, visit our volunteer page or email volunteer@hawaiifoodbank.org.
