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medical student by Halloween decorations
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2 men sorting stuffed animals
Medical students Ken Ortiz and Thomas Aldan prep stuffed animals for the carnival.

For the sixth year in a row, students at the University of Hawaiʻi’s John A. Burns School of Medicine will hold Halloween Carnivals so that children at the state’s homeless shelters will have some holiday fun.

The students bring costumes, crafts, face paints, games and food for the homeless families who reside at the Kakaʻako and Waiʻanae shelters. The carnivals are more than a chance for fun, these events ensure the homeless children aren’t left out the joyous anticipation of Halloween.

“We are putting on the Halloween carnival so these kids have a fun and safe place to do crafts and games with their families,” said carnival co-chair Jodi Kagihara. “Something they can enjoy so when they go back to school the next day they can talk about it with their friends.”

The medical students solicit donations from the public for food and other items for the carnivals. For information on donating to the carnival go the the School of Medicine’s website.

Through the H.O.M.E. Project (Homeless Outreach and Medical Education), medical students also run medical clinics twice a week at the shelters, where the large number of residents are “the working homeless.”

The video was created by the John A. Burns School of Medicine.

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