Since Lanakila’s founding in 1939 as a "social enterprise" — employing people with disabilities in a business to fund and ensure social services — the organization has presented different faces to the community, according to

www.lanakilapacific.org

.

But its name change to "Lanakila Pacific" in 2008 was a better reflection of the growing entrepreneurship that sustains the nonprofit and its ability to provide its 2,300 clients and the community with a wide array of services.

Marian Tsuji, CEO and president of the agency the past several years, said in an interview that Lanakila Crafts was the most visible way of making money and training the disabled to work for quite a while. But the program was phased out about 2006 because it was not helping them develop the skills necessary to acquire jobs and, most importantly, it was not "creating independence — that’s what our mission is," Tsuji said. "And what better way to become independent than having your own paycheck?"

She added: "The general public needs to know that just because you have a disability, it doesn’t mean you can’t be part of the community, which is what is meant by ‘inclusion.’ It goes way beyond making those crafts — it kinda kept them down, contributing to the stereotype of the disabled. (Inclusion) is about contributing and being useful, and aren’t we all hard-wired to be like that?"

"Unfortunately, for anybody who is different, society shuts them down and doesn’t take the time to learn who they are, to ask them: What interests you? What kind of things do you like to do? Don’t make the assumption that I just want to sit there and watch TV all day (because of a disability)," she said.

Lanakila enterprises that provide training and produce revenue include:

» Lanakila Workforce Resources, which provides experience in a variety of jobs at 19 sites on Oahu, including grounds maintenance, custodial, clerical and food service, Tsuji said. Lanakila Farms, created eight months ago, is the newest branch.

According to Lanakila spokeswoman Marlena Willette, of the 50 people in its workforce program, 17 trainees graduated last year.

» Lanakila Kitchen, which prepares more than 1,700 meals daily, of which about 900 are for Meals on Wheels. The state-of-the-art kitchen at its center at 1809 Bachelot St. in Liliha was built in 2006, and does catering for business meetings, events and parties, and has contracts at private schools and care centers. The first neighbor island venture, Lanakila Kitchen Kauai, was established in 2011.

» Lanakila Custom Products, which offers the printing of logos and other promotions on apparel, packaging and other items.

Lanakila Teaching & Learning Centers does not produce revenue, but serves adults 18 and older with cognitive, physical, or social disabilities. They attend classes on basic life skills, including academics, personal hygiene, home management and the like.

Tsuji said the Meals on Wheels program depends on $1 million in federal and state allotments, which Lanakila is required to match, and seasonal community fundraisers where "people have just been really, really generous." But government stipends haven’t increased in 10 years, and there’s a waitlist of 238 seniors, Tsuji added.

Willette said Lanakila’s new annual fundraiser, called The Good Table, last year raised more than $90,000 for its meals program, in partnership with more than 50 Hawaii restaurants. This year’s event will be held Oct. 3. More information is available at www.TheGoodTable.org. Another seasonal fundraiser is "Sponsor Our Seniors," in which the public can donate any amount to pay for a number of meals.