Look At What Is Coming In The Future!
Birds & Blossoms Retreat
Open to the General Public
A Non-Profit Bed & Breakfast
Specializing with the
Blind and Visually Impaired or Handicapped Traveler
68-615 Farrington 20B
Waialua, Hawaii 96791
Phone: (808) 636-2222
E-Mail:
[email protected]
S
tart telling your fiends, family and love ones about the new business that is up and coming in the very near future. Just waiting for government approval and “Birds & Blossoms Retreat” will be open for business in the State of Hawaii and in the Pacific Northwest. It is a Non-Profit Bed & Breakfast with a School where guests can enjoy activities in health, nutrition, relaxation, recreation, art, travel and exploring other cultures. The name “Birds & Blossoms Retreat” evolved because the retreat will include a bird aviary and tactile garden for everyone to enjoy. The retreat is not only a place for people to go and relax; it is also a working school in progress and will be the first of its kind. It will specialize in dealing with the Blind and Visually Impaired or the Handicapped Traveler. The Founder, Johanna Leaird, herself is blind and is dedicating her life’s work to making this Holiday Retreat a success for people to enjoy today and for all future generations. Everyone is welcome at the “Birds & Blossoms Retreat.”Johanna Leaird served as a marketing and sales representative for Western Airlines from 1977 to 1986. In 1986, she became blind and left the Airline Industry. After attending several Blind Institutions she continued her education at The Culinary Institute of America in Pastry Arts, Paul Smith College in Hotel and Restaurant Management and then Cornell University. She graduated with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Hotel Administration from Cornell University in 1997. Ms. Leaird’s favorite quote is from a book called “The Little Prince.” The motto you will hear at the “Birds & Blossoms Retreat” is: “We can’t see well, except with the heart. What is essential is hidden from our eyes.” Antoine de Saint-Exupery.
For the past year, Ms. Leaird has been working with Hawaii’s Small Business Administration, SCORE, Hawaii Women’s Business Center and Volunteer Legal Services. The Non-Profit Retreat or Bed & Breakfast and School will have a working Externship Program using students from both Hawaii Pacific University and Cornell University to help develop and run the program. Ms. Leaird has just applied for a State of Hawaii’s Business License; the retreat will be incorporated within the State of Hawaii and be a 501C3 (Public) Non-Profit Retreat. It will take between four to eight months to hear back from the United States government on the Non-Profit status.
Once the Non-Profit status is achieved, Ms. Leaird will seek funding through donations, grants, and federal funds to start building the retreat. Expect her to be at the National Conventions for the Blind in the next several years and visiting many of the local chapters across the United States. If approved, she plans to sell raffle tickets at the Conventions giving away many gifts and holidays across the United States and abroad. Your donations can be tax deductible; so do not hesitate to give. This program will help develop and promote awareness of both self and the community regarding handicapped issues. For those of you traveling with a guide dog, even the dog is pampered with the luxury of a grooming service, a special doggy bed, treats and toys.
There will be three facilities used as part of the retreat. Guests can stay at either location in Hawaii (country or ocean) or in the Pacific Northwest. The main facility would be on the island of Maui with a formal program in place. If the guests prefer to be alone, they can stay on Oahu in a cozy ocean front cottage in a private gated community next to the Polo Field. Later in the future, an outdoor retreat will open in the Pacific Northwest near the famous small fishing village called Gig Harbor located in Washington State. The Retreat on Maui will be $150 a day, max two people per room. The Mokuleia Beach Colony on Oahu is a one-bedroom cottage on the ocean and rents on a monthly basis at $1800 a month, max four people. If someone wishes to stay on a daily basis other units may be available. Photos below. The cottages in the Pacific Northwest are located on a twenty-two acre parcel with a salmon creek; rates are between $120 and $150 a day, max two people per room
This program is two-fold because it is also designed to teach others about physically challenged or handicapped people and related issues. It will be open to the general public but it specializes with local and foreign tourists who are blind or visually impaired, family, friends, love ones and educators. The retreat is designed to help create a person’s independence. If a person wants to come and is not able to care for him or herself and requires assistance, an attendant may accompany them. There will be no extra charge for the person assisting at the retreat. Guests are charged per room.
Blind and visually impaired or handicapped people are either retired or working, and many people go on holidays. People like to learn and better themselves. So why has no one thought outside the box and created a product or place where these people with similar interests can go, share and grow as individuals? If there were a place to go to, people would dream and plan a holiday. “Birds & Blossoms Retreat” is just the place to fill this gap and for all to enjoy.
Contact US.
At this point in time, the Retreat is still in the planning stages and awaiting the United States government approval. “Birds & Blossoms Retreat” welcomes your input and wants to hear your suggestions on what you would like to do at the retreat. This valuable information could help define the program even better than it already is. If you desire more information or wish to make a donation or a grant once we the retreat gets the Non-Profit status, please let us know. You can contact Ms. Johanna Leaird at [email protected] or call (808) 636-2222.
Mahalo and Aloha from all of us at the “Birds & Blossoms Retreat.”