LIHU‘E — Kaua‘i Shores hotel General Manager Jennie Waiwaiole-Vega said they don’t know when the hotel in Waipouli will reopen its doors.
LIHU‘E — Kaua‘i Shores hotel General Manager Jennie Waiwaiole-Vega said they don’t know when the hotel in Waipouli will reopen its doors.
“All we know is that we’re closed through February,” Waiwaiole-Vega said. “We don’t have a date on how long we’re going to be closed. The only thing we can do is be engaged with the community.”
Waiwaiole-Vega represented the hotel Tuesday when she presented both the Hawai‘i Foodbank Kaua‘i Branch and Kaua‘i Independent Food Bank with awards of $1,280 each.
The contribution is a split of proceeds the hotel raised during its recent garage sale, where the hotel’s employees contributed material and the community contributed what they felt they could afford. The garage sale is just one of the ways the hotel stays engaged in the community, said Waiwaiole-Vega, who also helped during one of the food distributions.
“This total is more than double what we expected,” Waiwaiole-Vega said. “Originally, our goal was to net $1,000 so we could contribute $500 to each food bank. But the generosity of our employees and the community came up with more than $2,500.”
The contribution is welcome relief for a chain of events for the food banks that starts today when the Kaua‘i Independent Food Bank hosts a food distribution for furloughed associates at the Sheraton Kaua‘i Resort in Po‘ipu. This follows in the wake of a grocery giveaway hosted New Hope Lihu‘e where more than 200 families’ needs were taken care of Saturday at the Kaua‘i Veterans Center.
The Hawai‘i Foodbank Kaua‘i Branch hosts an appointment-required food distribution Thursday from 10 a.m. at Vidinha Stadium.
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Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer and photographer, can be reached at 245-0453 or dfujimoto@thegardenisland.com.
