Recent grants to Hawaii nonprofits

Red Cross relief effort in Japan gets $1.6 million from Hawaii concert

Hawaii’s star-studded benefit concert, Kokua for Japan, on April 10 raised $1.6 million for the American Red Cross relief efforts in Japan following the devastating March 11 earthquake and tsunami.

The five-hour event, which took place at the Hilton Hawaiian Village Beach Resort & Spa, was headlined by a mix of local and national musicians and recording artists including Jack Johnson, Jake Shimabukuro, Willie Nelson, Pat Simmons, Hutch Hutchinson, Cecilio & Kapono, Amy Hanaialii, Na Leo and Kalapana.

“Kokua for Japan was truly a labor of love to show our care and concern for the people of Japan,” said Coralie Chun Matayoshi, CEO of the American Red Cross, Hawaii State Chapter, in a prepared statement. “We are incredibly grateful for the outpouring of support that Hawaii’s people have shown. Their compassion will give strength to humanitarian efforts in Japan as we help them recover from this terrible tragedy. We want to thank everyone involved in this event for their wonderful contribution to the cause of humanity.”

Kokua for Japan, organized by Clear Channel Radio Hawaii and Oceanic Time Warner Cable, was carried live on multiple media outlets including radio, television and the Internet.

> Damien receives unprecedented $5 million grant – Damien Memorial School said it received the largest gift in school history, a $5 million grant from the Clarence T.C. Ching Foundation. The money will be used in $12 million worth of construction projects, including a new athletic complex, new two-story library with additional classrooms, and new administration building, the school said. Damien is an all-male school with more than 400 students from 7th to 12th grade. The school will soon add 6th grade.

> Chaminade University has been awarded a grant totaling $4.1 million from the National Institutes of Health’s National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities. The grant will be issued during a period of five years, according to Chaminade, and support various efforts, including faculty research, student research and enrichment activities, focusing on health issues that disproportionately affect Pacific populations. Chaminade University is the ninth-largest college in Hawaii in terms of enrollment.

> Bank of Hawaii has awarded a check for more than $95,000 to the Hawaii Meth Project. The funds will allow the organization to sustain methamphetamine prevention outreach and education.

> Kanuikapono, Inc., the nonprofit arm of a charter school on Kauai., has received $33,769 from the Kauai County Community Development Block Grant through the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement’s Resource Capacity Partnership Project, created with AmeriCorps volunteers from the Corporation for National Community Service. CNHA is accepting applications from its member organizations to receive grant writing assistance through this program. Contact Fetia Solomon, CNHA Hawaiian Way Fund Coordinator at, info@hawaiiancouncil.org or (808) 596-8155 for more information.

> Pacific Buddhist Academy has received a $50,000 grant from the First Hawaiian Bank Foundation, the charitable arm of First Hawaiian Bank. The grant will be used to support Pacific Buddhist Academy’s construction of new classroom facilities. The Honolulu high school serves 64 students in grades nine through 12 and is currently at maximum capacity.

> Hawaii Medical Service Association has given $85,995 to the “Aloha for Japan” statewide effort to collect donations for the victims of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami. Of the total amount, HMSA employees contributed $37,995, the company matched its employees’ contributions up to $25,000, and the HMSA Foundation contributed $20,000.

> Kaiser Permanente Hawaii announced it is donating $50,000 to various relief efforts following the March 11 Japan earthquake and tsunami. The company will give $25,000 to the Japan-America Society of Hawaii as part of the “Aloha for Japan” campaign, and also will give $25,000 to the American Red Cross, Hawaii State Chapter, for disaster preparedness and response here in the Islands.

> Teach for America Hawaii has been awarded a $50,000 grant by the First Hawaiian Bank Foundation. The nonprofit seeks to close the achievement gap in underperforming public schools in Hawaii. Teach for America Hawaii recruits outstanding college graduates to commit to two years to teach in Hawaii’s low-income urban and rural public schools.