• Bethany’s fund-raiser Bethany’s fund-raiser The hundreds of people and hundreds of donated items to be auctioned off at the Bethany Hamilton fund-raiser held Saturday at the Kaua‘i Marriott were the heart of an islandwide display of aloha. The young
• Bethany’s fund-raiser
Bethany’s fund-raiser
The hundreds of people and hundreds of donated items to be auctioned off at the Bethany Hamilton fund-raiser held Saturday at the Kaua‘i Marriott were the heart of an islandwide display of aloha.
The young girl is headed for rehabilitation and needs a prosthetic device to replace her left arm. A financial need is there for her mom and dad who are both hard working North Shore residents.
The event took on a life of its own as family friends, surfers, church members, musicians, artists and just interested local residents and visitors came through the door of the Marriott’s large ballroom to fill it wall-to-wall at times.
The gathering was a reminder perhaps not seen since the days and weeks following Hurricane ‘Iniki in September, 1992 that we are all linked together in many ways in our island community.
The variety of donations ranged from surfboards to art objects, to massages and dozens of other items.
The selection offered also showed off the incredible variety of talent that is found on Kaua‘i, and showed how the Island has become the focus of global media, not just for the recent flurry of articles on Bethany Hamilton, but also for Andy Irons the current world surfing champion. Andy and his equally talented brother Bruce both donated a surfboard from their own quiver.
The bands, the food, the giving, the sharing, the reconnecting of old friends also reminds one of like in old Kaua‘i and the days when plantation life melded communties together across the Island. While those days are gone it is good to see that the aloha is still there.
