First Hawaiian awards grants to Shriners, Hale Kipa

The First Hawaiian Bank Foundation in June announced a total of $150,000 in grants to the Shriners Hospital for Children and Hale Kipa.

The foundation awarded $100,000 to help build a new hospital for the Shriners Hospitals for Children. The funds were donated to the campaign raising money to replace the existing Punahou Street facility with a new $73 million hospital, First Hawaiian said. Shriners Hospital's new building, which should be completed in 2010, will be 40 percent larger than the current facility and will have a hospital, an administrative and education building and a family quarters and recreation therapy building.

Hale Kipa received $50,000 from the foundation to help fund construction of the Hale Kipa Services Complex in Ewa Beach. Hale Kipa, established 30 years ago to assist Hawaii's families, runaways and at-risk youth, is working to raise $23 million to build the complex, which will comprise six residential shelters, a service center and multipurpose education administration building on Fort Weaver Road. Approximately $6 million has been raised so far from 250 private donors, the state of Hawaii and local banks. Groundbreaking at the Fort Weaver property is scheduled for March 2009.