Hau`ula's Dotty Kelly-Paddock Named Hawai`i Andrus Award Winner

Hau`ula’s Dotty Kelly-Paddock has been selected by AARP, the nonprofit organization for people 50 and older, to receive the 2023 AARP Hawai`i Andrus Award for Community Service, the Association’s most prestigious and visible state volunteer award for community service.

AARP Hawai`i selected Kelly-Paddock for her remarkable service, which has greatly benefited Hau`ula and other Windward North Shore communities, reflected AARP’s vision and mission, and inspired other volunteers.

“Dotty’s compassion, love and enthusiasm for the people in her community exhibit a quality deserving of this award,” said Jarrett Pang, a volunteer and Ka`a`awa resident who nominated Kelly-Paddock. “She inspires others to participate for the well-being of the communities… The North Shore Windward communities have a leader fighting for them in Dotty Kelly-Paddock.”

Kelly-Paddock is president of Hui O` Hau`ula and the Hau`ula Community Association. She led the effort to turn the Hau`ula Satellite City Hall into a community center, where classes for kupuna are held and food is distributed to the needy. She is also leading an effort to create a resilience hub, which will provide services for the community and be a disaster shelter on high ground in case of hurricane, fires, tsunami or other emergencies.

The award was formally presented to Paddock at a ceremony during AARP Hawai`i’s annual volunteer lunch earlier this month.

“This award acts as a symbol to the public that we can all work together for positive social change,” said Keali`i Lopez, AARP Hawai`i State Director. “AARP has long valued the spirit of volunteerism and the important contributions volunteers make to their communities, neighbors, and the programs they serve.”

The AARP Andrus Award for Community Service is an annual awards program named after AARP’s founder Ethel Percy Andrus, who once said: “It is only in the giving of oneself to others that we truly live.”

Recipients across the nation were chosen for their ability to enhance the lives of AARP members and prospective members, improve the community in or for which the work was performed, and inspire others to volunteer.