Benefactor showers gift of books
By Suzanne Roig
Advertiser East Honolulu Writer
Rebecca Breyer • The Honolulu Advertiser
Every day, Diane Van Trees looks out her window and sees a playground full of children whom she knows would enjoy a good book, if only they had one.
Alex Nguyen, 11, takes part in Diane Van Trees' after-school art class at Jefferson Elementary School.
But the parents of many children at Jefferson Elementary School can't afford such luxuries.
This year, Van Trees, 71, decided to do something about that. She is offering every one of the school's 63 sixth-grade students a trip to Borders bookstore at Ward Centre. She is chartering a bus and giving each student $15 to use in conjunction with a 20 percent discount the bookstore is giving each student.
The students will go to Borders on May 26, shop and get a behind-the-scenes tour of the store.
"The students are so excited," said principal Vivian Hee.
Van Trees says it's her mission to help the Waikiki school. She first offered to volunteer at the school two years ago. She ended up adopting a fifth-grade class, whose members are now in sixth grade.
Rebecca Breyer • The Honolulu Advertiser
"It's wonderful," said sixth-grade teacher Debbie Sato. "The kids are very excited when she comes. She really cares about all the children."
Esther Suh, 12, and Diane Van Trees share a laugh at Van Trees' after-school art class at Jefferson Elementary School in Waikiki. Also in the class are Elizabeth Ok, 11, left, and Monica Dickerson, 11.
When she sees a need, Van Trees fills it — from 'ukuleles to gift cards for new shoes and more, said Sato.
She donated a computer to the class. Books and more books donated by Van Trees sit on Sato's classroom shelves. At Christmas, the students received handmade pillow cases and their own art sketch books. And when Van Trees travels, she often picks up history books, picture books or brochures and mails them to the school.
Money isn't the only thing Van Trees lavishes on the students. She also gives her time. Each week, she tutors students who have trouble reading. After school on Fridays, she holds an art club, offering ideas and materials for students to express themselves. They've done pottery painting, watercolors and drawing.
"I give the students the only thing that can't be replaced, and that's my time," Van Trees said. "I hear them. I listen to them. And I act like a kid when I'm with them."
As a neighbor and part-time Hawai'i resident for four years, Van Trees said she just wants to help, and has the means to do it.
"I truly believe that all children are the hope of the future," she said. "Gangs and drugs are my big fear. Anything I can do to improve their self-esteem in a positive way ... I believe in.
Retired MIT professor Harry Van Trees and his wife, Diane, live part-time in Hawai'i. They have 17 grandchildren. Rebecca Breyer • The Honolulu Advertiser
"I do believe that one person can make a difference."
Monica Dickerson draws a portrait of Diane and Harry Van Trees, who are bringing her class to Borders Bookstore to buy books.
The wife of retired MIT professor Harry Van Trees and mother of seven grown children and 17 grandchildren —Êall of whom live on the Mainland — is as excited about the book store trip as the students are.
Principal Hee isn't sure what to make of Van Tree's largess, but she welcomes it. At a school with more than half the students receiving free- and reduced-priced lunches — a common measure of poverty — not every parent is able to provide the extras, Hee said. Some students have never been to a bookstore or a public library.
Books and learning oftentimes are not a priority for families, Hee said. Teachers often keep their classroom doors open so students can stay at school to do their homework rather than be latchkey kids at home, she said.
Sato said Van Trees really listens to the sixth-graders and can tell you something about each of them.
Students say she is exciting to be with. She makes learning and reading fun. She laughs with them.
"She's old, but when she's in school she's young and funny," said Shannon Tuiolemotu, 12.
Alex Nguyen, 11, who takes part in Van Trees' after-school art club, said if the outing is anything like art class, he's looking forward to it. He hopes to find some comedy books.
Rebecca Breyer • The Honolulu Advertiser
Megan Yamaguchi plans to ask Van Trees for a recommendation before she buys a book. When Van Trees gave her a copy of "Whale Rider," it made her day.
Retired MIT professor Harry Van Trees and his wife, Diane, live part-time in Hawai'i. They have 17 grandchildren.
"She usually knows what all the good books are," Yamaguchi said. "She wears bright clothes and is always happy."
"She's really entertaining, not boring like teachers can be sometimes," said Ayana Powell, 11. "I don't know how to explain it. She knows a lot about different lands and countries."
Van Trees says her message is simple: Books are the key to learning, taking the reader to far-off lands and times.
She should know. Whenever she donates a book, she reads it first.
Reach Suzanne Roig at sroig@honoluluadvertiser.com or 395-8831.
