Free medical screenings for all ages at 35th Annual Rell Sunn Menehune Surfing Competition at Makaha Beach

The Rell Sunn Education Fund has teamed up with the University of Hawaii’s John A. Burns School of Medicine to offer blood pressure screenings, eye exams, and glucose screenings as part of the 25th Annual Rell Sunn Menehune Surf Contest. Information will also be given to help qualified patients receive discounted medications through patient assistance programs. Free medical screenings will be offered on the second day of the surf contest, Saturday, November 27, 2010 at Makaha Beach (alternate site – rest camp).

“It’s been an ongoing goal of ours to provide services to the community,” said Jann Sunn-Carreira, founder and president of the Rell Sunn Education Fund, a public benefit nonprofit corporation organized and operated exclusively for charitable, scientific, and educational purposes.

“This is an excellent way to assist our residents in Makaha and the Wai’anae Coast who may not have health insurance,” added Rep. Maile Shimabukuro, who Sunn sought out to help inform the public about this event. “The concern is that people without health insurance will wait until the last minute to seek medical treatment. This program is preventive, and I encourage everyone to come down.”

The 35th Annual Rell Sunn Menehune Surfing Championships will be held on Nov. 26 – 27, 2010 at Makaha Beach beginning at 6 a.m.

Also this year, Rell Sunn Education Fund will be hosting an Aloha Jam II concert on Sunday, November 28th on the North Shore. Entertainers include Henry Kapono, Amy Hanaiali’i, Kaukahi, Ten Feet, The Honolulu Lounge Lizards, The Young Coconuts, and Te Lumanaki.

“So many professional surfers got their start at Rell Sunn’s Menehune Surf Contest,” Shimabukuro said. “I am so happy that Jan and her family and friends are continuing the tradition of this surf meet to continue to give young surfers the chance to ‘make it big’ in surfing.”