Posted on: Friday, March 28, 2003

Ice cream sales help schools

By Suzanne Roig
Advertiser East Honolulu Writer

HAWAI'I KAI — When businessman Win Schoneman read about a lack of textbooks in Hawai'i public schools, he decided to help.

A Feb. 23 story in The Advertiser prompted Schoneman, owner of Bubbies Homemade Ice Cream & Desserts store in Koko Marina, to donate a percentage of each sale over the next month to one of five area schools.

Schoneman also enlisted the support of two other Hawai'i Kai businessmen, who agreed to match any donation he makes. With the month nearly over, Schoneman figures that the schools will receive about $3,000. That's barely a dent in the tens of millions of dollars that would be needed to provide up-to-date textbooks in every classroom, he acknowledged. But Schoneman said he needed to do what he could and he knows it will help, if only in a small way.

"I feel it's incumbent upon business people to help the community," Schoneman said. "If we all do a little bit, then maybe we can eat the whole elephant, rather than just taking a big bite. We have an obligation as a society. We business people use a lot of resources and we need to conserve and have a commitment to the community."

Kaiser High School math teacher Sachi Matsushita was pleased to hear about Schoneman's effort.

"That store is always so good about providing incentives to the students," Matsushita said. And, "we always need textbooks."

In the past, Schoneman has offered ice cream coupons to students, and each year he gives bicycles to elementary school students who draw the best bike safety poster.

Outside help for the schools is nothing new, said Lucretia Leong, state Department of Education school library services specialist. For example, the Joint Venture Education Forum, a partnership between U.S. Pacific Command and the Department of Education, has helped with the purchase of textbooks at 94 schools, among other projects.

But it's unusual for a business to step forward with a donation for textbooks, Leong said.

"We don't know of any businesses that have donated money for books," Leong said.

Schoneman asks each customer to write the name of an area school — Koko Head, Haha'ione or Kamiloiki elementary schools, Niu Valley Intermediate or Kaiser High School — on a receipt and drop it in an empty ice cream tub.

He does the rest.

So far, Kamiloiki has the most receipts, said Schoneman, who has a strong connection to education.

His father was a teacher and his mother worked in a district superintendent's office. And with his staff all in their early college years, helping to ease the textbook shortage is his way of trying improve the workforce pool, he said.

The other two businesses matching Schoneman's money asked not to be named, he said.

Schoneman will consider continuing the program, provided it doesn't hurt his business.

"My feeling is I'd like to continue it throughout the school year," he said. "My object is to get the money into the hands of the schools."

Reach Suzanne Roig at sroig@honoluluadvertiser.com or 395-8831.