KANE'OHE — The Kaneohe Business Group wants to help students seeking higher education at Windward Community College obtain their goal through an endowment created by the community and will kick off the fundraising effort with an auction Saturday.

Educational endowments are often gifts from the wealthy who set aside thousands and, in some cases, millions of dollars to be invested, with the profits used for scholarships, maintenance of buildings or operation of programs, among other uses. The Windward Community College Scholarship Endowment will be the first of its kind, started by community members for students going to the two-year college, said KC Collins, a volunteer with the endowment committee.

"Just about every kid walking in the door there needs financial aid," Collins said, adding that this will be a broad fund that will help students meet all kinds of needs. "Let's just help these kids ... use the funds to continue with their educational program and change their lives."

Terrence George, executive director for the Harold K.L. Castle Foundation that supports educational programs at the college and other schools, said he thought that having the business group initiate the endowment as a community project is unique and creative.

"We enthusiastically welcome this effort to strengthen WCC," George said. "When you give to an endowment, your gift keeps giving forever. What better thing can we do with our resources than to give everyone the opportunity to have a great education."

The college presently provides scholarships almost exclusively through what are known as expendable funds. However, by their nature, all of the money coming in is distributed, said Libby Young, with the business group. If they get $100, that's all that goes out. The business group and the college want to build something that will last, so when people give $100, it will be added to a pot.

"The endowment is something that will keep growing based on interest earned," said Young, a journalism professor at WCC.

The University of Hawai'i has about 900 endowment funds and 4,000 expendable funds, Collins said. WCC has about 30 expendable funds and about four endowment funds, she said.

As a single parent, Teresa Worden, 34, said scholarships have allowed her to fulfill a dream and shorten her time in school. Even though she had enough financial aid to cover college expenses, there wasn't enough to cover living expenses, and that's where the scholarship from Windward Community College helped.

"When I started calculating it, it looked like I would have to go part-time for the next three years just to finish my two-year degree," Worden said. "That was depressing to me. I was so close, and I knew I could get it done if I powered through and dedicated the full-time effort."

The scholarship turned a three-year, part-time stint into a one-year effort, she said. She's now attending the University of Hawai'i at Manoa and expects to complete her bachelor's degree and obtain certification in her field, museum studies, in three years.

To begin the community fund, the business group must raise $10,000, the minimum required to open a University of Hawai'i Foundation endowment. Members will do this with a silent auction that will run during the Windward Ho'olaule'a on Saturday at the college, said Sandy Kurosaki, auction chairwoman.

More than 130 items have been donated, and the group is still accepting donations, Kurosaki said.

Topping the list of items is a 2009 Nissan Versa with a starting bid of $12,995. There's a vacation package for Cabo San Lucas, Mexico; tickets for the Superferry; a meal at P.F. Chang's; six yards of concrete; and more items including jewelry, household goods, music, plants and ceramics. A separate part of the auction includes works by 18 artists such as Hiroshi Tagami, Richard Pettit, Michael Powell and Frank Shaner.

Last year the business group ran its first auction and raised $6,000 that was given to the school for scholarships, Kurosaki said. This year the goal is to raise $12,000, but the money will be used to start an endowment.

"We look at this as long range," she said. "This is not just a one-shot deal."