Dear VOPIN Family,

We want to share a heartfelt update. After careful consideration, we made the difficult decision to postpone this year’s Together for Education fundraising event. We recognize the importance of an event like Together for Education; it brings people together, celebrates Pasefika heritage, and shines a light on youth who are too often unseen. But the resources required to host it are significant, and we recognize that too many in our community are also navigating financial uncertainty.

Your past support has made an incredible difference. Through VOPIN’s programs, we served 175 Pasefika youth in the 2024/2025 academic year with services that improve educational outcomes, academic achievement, and resiliency. Navigating Education expanded to provide tutoring, mentoring, social emotional learning, and cultural education in Mountain View Middle School as well as Bremerton High School. Thanks to you, we continue to provide culturally grounded, high-impact support. We were also able to launch Care Navigation, a case management program that connects people across Kitsap County with essential resources to address social determinants of health, such as housing, education, and behavioral health. And we continued Fetu Tai'ala, our paid internship program that provides youth meaningful with hands-on experience in service, employment, and educational supports. 

We are also actively working to launch two new programs as soon as resources are secured. Language Navigation, an intergenerational, community-based program that will teach Pasefika languages, and Future Empowered Truthful Unifiers (FETU), a youth leadership initiative rooted in cultural identity, civic engagement, and positive youth development.

While we hope to bring the fundraiser back next year, the work can’t wait. If you’re able to contribute this year, your support will directly sustain and expand these vital programs.

With deep appreciation,

Patrick Woo-Ching

On behalf of the VOPIN Team