Awards and grants
Advertiser Staff
Kids raise $470 for seniors
Lanakila has announced that Likelike Elementary School children and staff donated $470 to the Adopt-a-Senior 2002 fund-raiser. Children in each grade also created handmade cards to accompany the meal deliveries on Thanksgiving and Christmas Day. The elementary school has been participating in this fund-raising event for the past three years, spearheaded by Kevin Okazaki, a teacher at Likelike.
A gift of $5 provides a hot, nutritious meal for one senior. Lanakila delivers more than 238,000 meals to homebound seniors and adults with disabilities throughout the year with support from government and private grants. However, the holiday meals program does not receive money from any other source. To reduce seniors' isolation and loneliness during the holidays, Lanakila relies on volunteers and the compassion of the community.
Lanakila's Meals on Wheels Program provides support to seniors through two vital services, group dining at more than 35 community sites and home-delivered meals. About half a million meals are prepared and served annually. For more information call 531-0555.
$5,000 will enhance exhibit
Kalaeloa Partners, a local energy company, has donated $5,000 to the Hawai'i Children's Discovery Center in support of educational opportunities for Hawai'i's keiki.
"We strongly believe in promoting the education and well-being of our children," said Ruedi Tobler, Kalaeloa Partners general manager.
The grant will go toward enhancing interactive exhibits and educational programming in the "hands-on" learning environment.
Among the exhibits are a giant mouth in which children climb and familiarize themselves with the teeth, a heart that they can pump to observe the way blood flows, a bike ride with a skeleton to see how bones work and a wheelchair that allows them to strap themselves in and wheel themselves around a house to experience what life is like for others.
Nanakuli group gets $24,900
Nanakuli Housing Corporation has received a $24,900 grant from the Hawai'i Community Foundation's Organizational Capacity Building Grant to support the development of its strategic plan.
Paige Barber, president of the corporation, said the money is necessary if the organization is to evolve into a superior housing services provider.
"We have grown rapidly over the past three years and must now chart the next three years to better utilize our human and material resources to better serve our communities as well as increase our capacity for long-term sustainability," she said.
The corporation was started in 1988 by area residents to address neighborhood blight through low-interest loans provided by the City and County of Honolulu. The organization manages a home ownership education program and launched a base yard this year to rescue construction materials headed for the landfill. Low- to moderate-income families reduce their home repair cost by using these materials, while companies that donate materials receive a tax incentive. Companies also save on dumping fees.
The corporation is a member of the Native Hawaiian Economic Alliance and was recently adopted by the Building Industry Association. With its partners and resources, Base Yard Hawai'i is poised to contribute to the reduction and reuse of construction materials in Hawai'i, according to the corporation.
