Kahuku High e-tailing helps educational mission

By Eloise Aguiar
Advertiser North Shore Bureau

KAHUKU — When the Kahuku High football team won the state championship last year, the Ko'olauloa Educational Alliance Corp. and the school saw an opportunity to capitalize on the victory.

Always short of money for school programs and activities, Kahuku High School students and the alliance, with help from computer expert Jack Morgan, created a Web site where alumni and others can read about the latest news from the school and purchase products containing the school's logo.

After less than a month in business, the site has grossed more than $7,000, matching the gross from the sale of school products last year.

And there's more.

"Our grand plan is to get to a place where the school and the kids develop this into a Hawaiian shopping site, not just a school bookstore on your computer," said Lowell Hussey, a board member of the alliance, which finds ways to raise money for Ko'olauloa schools. The site also will feature country Hawaiian products.

An auction launched the school's e-commerce Web site Aug. 17, which coincided with the opening of a bookstore at the high school, Hussey said.

A Kahuku state championship football, signed by the team, fetched $250.

The ball, one of five to be auctioned, was purchased by an anonymous bidder who has donated the treasure to the school's athletic department.

Morgan, who owns GlobalHost.com and teaches computer classes at Kahuku, said the students came up with the idea, developed the site and its strategy.

"One of the things that the students picked up quickly is that it had to be more than just a place to buy stuff," Morgan said. It had to be a community site, drawing people in with the news and feeding them into the business side.

The football sold with only about 200 people signed up for the site's e-mail notification and auction system, said Hussey, adding that 10 to 15 people are signing up every day. He expects about 1,000 to be signed up by the end of the football season and hopes for spirited bidding on the remaining footballs.

The alliance, formed six years ago, wants to help develop students who are work ready and support local businesses that can provide jobs, Hussey said.

"Our main mission is to form a strong link between students and local business, and try to create an environment where students don't have to move away to find jobs," he said.

Reach Eloise Aguiar at eaguiar@honoluluadvertiser.com or 234-5266.