Page 5 - MidWeek Kauai - Aug 25 2021

She’s taken the stage for several shows, including The Producers (2009), The Princess and The Iso Peanut (2010) and Lisa Matsumoto’s Anniversary Show (2012). (Her film credits include 50 First Dates, Go For Broke and Netflix’s The Wrong Missy.)
She is a founding member of Echelon, a group of young professionals and leaders who support the Salvation Army and the community.
Another organization that’s dear to her heart is Ron- ald McDonald House Chari- ties. Dung has been involved with the nonprofit for nearly a decade. The organization provides a home for families who have seriously ill chil- dren who need medical care on O‘ahu.
It’s that positivity and de- sire to surround herself with like-minded people that led
“We’ve done things like a CEO sleep-out at the state Capitol to raise awareness for homelessness,” Dung says.
The group has also fed the homeless, distributed food to underserved communi-
ties, donated school supplies to students in need and gone to school campuses to help clean them up.
“When you’re going through something like that in your life, you can’t put a price on the kind of support the Ronald McDonald House Charities provides,” she says.
AUGUST 25, 2021 KAUA‘I MIDWEEK 5
I felt really at home in that environment.”
Dung to one of the many philanthropic groups she works with.
ing back, volunteerism and serving,” she says, adding that she encourages people who’ d like to get involved to visit hawaii.salvation- army.echelon.org.
Beginning next month, MidWeek wel- comes its newest con- tributor as Darah Dung pens a weekly column called “Mahalo Nui.” Like its predecessor, “Applause,” which was written over the past two decades by Pamela Young, the feature cele- brates the good deeds that people perform for one another.
Readers are encour- aged to share these random acts of kindness with Dung, who may choose to cover them in her column. She can be reached at mahalonui- withdarah@gmail.com.
“I’m honored and optimistic,” says Dung. “I think people are looking for positivity, and the fact that it can be high- lighted in a publication that goes to every home is even better.”
“Basically, we’ve taken the mission of The Salvation Army and we’ ve instigated a younger genera- tion to get involved and just show the importance of giv-
Here, she gets to combine two of her loves: her dogs and giving back. Every year, Dung takes her dogs to the organiza- tion’s Christmas parties so the kids can play with them.
Darah Dung is a lifelong animal lover. Here, she is hosting her show The Pet Hui at the Celebrities and their Pets Fashion Show. PHOTOS COURTESY DARAH DUNG
“That’s kind of my family that I take to their family. It’s just a really nice event, which (is an example of) dogs being therapeutic, too.”
that’s how she added Gage and Shiloh to her family.)
In addition to those two charitable groups, another big part of Dung’s commu- nity work is her involvement with the Celebrities and Their Pets Fashion Show.
With all of her commu- nity work and her day job, Dung admits that it takes a lot of planning to balance everything.
start her new column, “Ma- halo Nui” with MidWeek. In it, she will seek out indi- viduals who people want to thank for doing a good deed.
(Inset) Darah Dung at a community service event for Echelon. (Above) Dung, dog Shiloh and mom Annette attend a previous Ronald McDonald House Charities of Hawai‘i Christmas party.
“Sometimes people go and watch the show just thinking they’ re watching the show and end up going home with a puppy — or two. I’m not go- ing to say who,” she adds coy- ly. (It’s her. She quickly notes
That’s why she’s making time in her busy schedule to
“That’s a super-fun event,” she says with a laugh.
“I just learned to really prioritize the things and the organizations and peo- ple that bring positivity to my life,” she says. “I think that it’s so important to just surround yourself with positive things.
For Dung, she can un- derstand wanting to thank someone who’s helped. Everything that she does in the community is about honoring and repaying those who’ve invested in her throughout her life.
The event, which benefits an array of local shelters, fea- tures island celebrities walk- ing the runway with either their own adopted or foster pet or a pet that needs to be placed in a foster or forever home. The purpose of the show is to encourage people to adopt shelter animals.
“Especially now, I think people really need that. The things that make me happy and bring me joy are the things that I put at the fore- front of my schedule. And it does take a lot of balanc- ing and prioritizing and, sometimes, even omitting things. But, I do my best to try to fit everything in and create more than 24 hours in a day.”
“I’m so appreciative and grateful to — of course, my family and our communi- ty— but Hawai‘i as a whole. I’m a local girl — born and bred here — and I just hope to give back to the people what I received growing up here. This is my island home ... I’ m the end result of the time and dedication and hard work of people who have supported me.”