Recent grants to Hawaii nonprofits and foundations

Hawaii Habitat for Humanity Association recently received a $360,000 Affordable Housing Program award from First Hawaiian Bank to use in the construction of 30 single-family homes. The money was part of nearly $2.8 million in Affordable Housing Program subsidies that the Federal Home Loan Bank of Seattle is supplying its members to fund 10 projects in Hawaii, Oregon, Washington and Wyoming. The AHP awards will be used to help create 258 units of housing for very low-, low- and moderate-income households, including those with special needs, homeless individuals and families, and native people. First Hawaiian Bank Foundation also has awarded a grant of $10,000 to Camp Mokuleia to assist with the camp's renovation project and $10,000 to St. Michael's School to assist with the school's computer laboratory project.

Bank of Hawaii has announced charitable donations totaling $50,000 to five organizations that help needy families in Hawaii and the West Pacific. The Salvation Army (Hawaiian & Pacific Islands Division) will receive $25,000; Hawaii Foodbank, $10,000; and Maui Food Bank, Kauai Food Bank, and the Food Basket on Hawaii island, $5,000 each. Instead of providing client holiday parties and gifts this year, the bank decided to make the $50,000 charitable donation to help needy families.

Friends of the Library Hawaii has received a $10,000 grant from the Honolulu Board of Realtors. “Hawaii's public library system does more than just provide access to books, videos and online services; it teaches and nurtures a love of reading and of lifelong learning, which our Realtors strongly believe in,” said Sandra Bangerter, board president. Friends of the Library of Hawaii, founded in 1879, is a nonprofit organization whose primary objective is to maintain free public libraries in the state, to promote extension of library services throughout the state and to increase the facilities of the public library system of Hawaii by securing materials beyond the command of the ordinary library budget.

HawaiiUSA Federal Credit Union employees and members donated more than $4,000 and 1,800 pounds of food in a drive to help families assisted by the nonprofit HUGS, which stands for Help Understanding and Group Support, on Oahu and Maui.

Special Olympics Hawaii has received a $25,000 grant for the second year from the Wal-Mart Foundation's Hawaii State Giving Council and a $10,000 grant from Schuler Foundation. Nancy Bottelo, Special Olympics Hawaii president, said the donations would help stave off a significant budget deficit. "The cost to provide one athlete with sports training and competition is approximately $1,000 a year," Bottelo said. Special Olympics provides year-round sports-training opportunities to hundreds of athletes from across the state at no cost to athletes or their families.

Ward Centers' Festival of Giving, a three-day shopping extravaganza that took place Nov. 6-8, raised $121,460 for more than 100 local nonprofits. Participating nonprofits retained 100 percent of their proceeds from the sale of $10 Festival of Giving tickets, which provided shoppers with discounts and offers at more than 100 shops and restaurants. Some nonprofits that benefited from the festival include Boy Scouts of America, Friends for Life, Hawaii Youth Opera Chorus and Manoa Valley Theatre.

Grant to aid students at UH with children – A $326,148 federal grant will support childcare for low-income parents studying at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. The four-year grant will provide funds to the UH-Manoa Children's Center and provide for tuition assistance for children, staff development, parent education and workshops, the university said in a news release. The center serves children ages 2 to 5.

Grant to fund preservation of scenic area – A federal grant will allow a group on the Big Island to develop a preservation plan for a scenic stretch of highway in Kona, the Mamalahoa Kona Heritage Corridor, which was designated the state's first scenic byway in March. The corridor runs from Honokohau through Holualoa to Honalo as Route 180. The $29,140 grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation will help fund the development of a Corridor Management Plan by the Pulama IA Kona Heritage Preservation Council, which will provide a meaningful experience to roadway travelers while preserving the byway's historic qualities of Hawaiian culture and European and Asian settlement. Scott Seymour, president of Pulama IA Kona, said the group would hold community meetings to get public input for the plan.

UH grant to benefit Waianae Coast students – Students in schools along the Waianae Coast will benefit from an after-school literacy program funded by a $1.78 million, three-year grant to the University of Hawaii at Manoa. The Waianae Program for Afterschool Literacy Support, or W-PALS, will serve Leihoku, Maili, Makaha and Waianae elementary schools and Kamaile Charter School. Students in grades four through six will take part in hands-on activities and a curriculum focused on their sense of place and culture. The program, which also builds strong school and community partnerships, was recognized in 2008 as a "promising practice" for educating native Hawaiians.

Michelle Wie, Hawaii-born pro golfer, donated $9,500 worth of toys and gift cards to hospitalized children and their parents at Kapiolani Medical Center. The gift, in concert with Wal-Mart, benefits the Ronald McDonald House Charities. Wie, who on Nov. 16 won $220,000 at the Lorena Ochoa Invitational, her first LPGA tournament victory, went to Kapiolani's Ronald McDonald House Family Room to visit children who spent Christmas in the hospital. Her winnings for the year totalled more than $900,000.