LIHU‘E — When Michael Hughes and Kelvin Moniz finished loading the truck, Tuesday, there was more than food and funds. Bags of balloons used for the lunch-hour event at the G.N. Wilcox Memorial Hospital were also earmarked for a special
LIHU‘E — When Michael Hughes and Kelvin Moniz finished loading the truck, Tuesday, there was more than food and funds.
Bags of balloons used for the lunch-hour event at the G.N. Wilcox Memorial Hospital were also earmarked for a special evening celebration at Joe’s on the Green in Po‘ipu that was hosting a special St. Patrick’s Day event as well.
The staff of the Wilcox Hospital were treated to a special St. Patrick’s Day “If Can, Can” food drive event to benefit the Kaua‘i Food Bank.
According to Brooke Johnson, the community relations officer at the hospital, each employee was asked to donate either $5 or five of the most wanted food bank items as an entry to the conference room that was set up in the atmosphere of the day — St. Patrick’s Day.
“We wanted to concentrate more on the financial side this time,” Johnson said. “But we did collect some food items as well.”
Upon entry into the specially-decorated room, employees were treated to green cookies and punch to go along with a variety of games and activities centering around the wearing of the green.
Additionally, employees had an opportunity to enter a random drawing for the event grand prize of a two-night stay at the Hanalei Colony Resort.
Kathy Clark, the president and CEO at Wilcox Hospital, thanked the employees for coming by and helping support Kaua‘i’s families through their contributions to the food bank.
When the activity subsided and the edamame, green cookies and green punch were gone, Clark and Rene Cottingham, the event coordinator, turned over more than $400 and more than five boxes of food to the Kaua‘i Food Bank.
“We have more coming because there will be an opportunity for the night shift to contribute while enjoying St. Patrick’s Day as well,” Johnson said.
Kelvin Moniz, the development officer for the Kaua‘i Food Bank, said all of the Wilcox Hospital’s contributions will be credited toward the food bank’s Spring Food and Fund Drive.
“With this contribution, we now have more than 6,000 pounds of food and more than $7,000 for the spring drive,” Moniz said.
The goal for the Kaua‘i Food Bank’s Spring Food and Fund Drive is 40,000 pounds of food and $40,000 in contributions.
In addition to the good old-fashioned Irish fun, the Wilcox Hospital staff was thrilled to learn that it was food bank director Judy Lenthall’s birthday, and she was planning on being part of the Joe’s on the Green bash.
“We have about six to eight bags of unused balloons that you can have to decorate the place,” Cottingham said.
Those joined the collection of food and dollars from the hospital’s staff.
The Kaua‘i Food Bank distributes about 70,000 pounds of food each month in response to the approximately 6,000 requests for emergency food services.
During these times of economic downturn, that number has increased by about 25 percent, Lenthall said.
Of the people being helped, half are children and about 25 percent are elderly, a release from Wilcox Hospital states.
The Kaua‘i Food Bank collects food from the community, local grocers, farms and from off-island sources to serve about 70 charitable agencies that in turn feed their needy clients.
The organization is governed by an unpaid Board of Directors and Lenthall has been the director since 1995.
Sponsors for the Spring Food and Fund drive include the Kaua‘i Community Federal Credit Union, Aqua Engineers, the County of Kaua‘i Fire Department, The Garden Island newspaper and the KQNG Radio Group.
“When the hospital called to say they had items to pick up, the lady was embarrassed with the amount they had,” Moniz said. “But it’s not how much you give, but knowing that it’s from the heart. It ties in with the current food drive’s theme of ‘If Can, Can.’”
• For more information, visit the Kaua‘i Food Bank’s Web site at www.kauaifoodbank.org, or call 246-3809.
