NAWILIWILI — Nine community organizations split about $10,000 in grants distributed by the Young Brothers Community Advisory Board. Representatives of the organizations met at the Young Brothers Nawiliwili Port office to receive their grant checks and thank Young Brothers president
NAWILIWILI — Nine community organizations split about $10,000 in grants distributed by the Young Brothers Community Advisory Board.
Representatives of the organizations met at the Young Brothers Nawiliwili Port office to receive their grant checks and thank Young Brothers president and chief executive Glenn Hong.
Hong arrived Tuesday afternoon to personally distribute the CAB funds and stayed to meet with community leaders during a Lihu‘e Business Association meeting.
The grants fund a wide range of projects from the various organizations, such as the Read to Me International Foundation.
“We are so grateful to Young Brothers for their generosity and commitment to the community,” said foundation president Lynee Waihee.
“June is Men’s Health Month, so this gift comes at the perfect time,” said Mary Williamson, executive director of the American Cancer Society on Kaua‘i. “If our volunteers can talk with men about preventing cancer and finding it early together we can save lives.”
The American Cancer Society received a grant of $1,000 to help fund a free outreach program, “Men’s Health: Let’s Talk About It,” to remind Kaua‘i men to schedule routine screenings for colon and prostate cancer.
The Boy Scouts of America, Aloha Council Kaua‘i plans to put its grant toward a joint reforestation program on the slopes of Kilohana Crater above Lihu‘e.
Kaua‘i Community College and the National Tropical Botanical Garden are also involved, and Grove Farm will provide land, equipment and expertise to educate and train the scouts.
The Kaua‘i Sports Foundation’s grant pays for league dues, tournament fees, uniforms and other expenses for underprivileged and disadvantaged island youth to promote athletic participation as a means of preventing juvenile delinquency.
KSF also works to lessen the burden on government by improving upon or building new public facilities and parks.
Gracie Grace, president of the Lihu‘e Pop Warner Association said the CAB grant will be used to defray the expenses of their mandatory drug testing for all of their organization’s coaches and staff. LPWA will also mandate that all coaches be CPR/First Aid certified, Grace said.
“With the help of the Young Brothers grant, LPWA will not have to raise their registration fees to cover the mandatory testing,” Grace said. “At the same time, LPWA parents can be confident their children will be in the best care under the direction of the LPWA coaches. Thanks to the assistance of Young Brothers, LPWA can continue to uphold their coaches and staff to the strictest and highest standards.”
With the Kaua‘i Filipino Centennial Celebration Committee marking its six-month anniversary in a year-long celebration of the first Filipino workers arriving in Hawai‘i, the Young Brothers grant will help fund the remaining cultural events and programs.
Treasurer Sonia Topenio said the KFCCC hopes to present another performance group from Mindanao for Koloa Plantation Days on July 29. A Centennial Gala featuring Les Ceballos is scheduled for Aug. 19 .
Hui Alu Okinawa Club, the Kaua‘i Powwow Council and the American Red Cross, Kaua‘i Chapter also received grants.
• Dennis Fujimoto, photographer and staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 253) or dfujimoto@kauaipubco.com.
