As Hawaii dodged a bullet with last Saturday’s tsunami warning, it’s business as usual on this first day of a new work week and a new month. Today is also the deadline for students to submit their scholarship applications with supporting materials. As you might imagine, there’s an uptick in foot traffic beating a path to our door today as parents and students (sometimes both) walk their applications in before the 5pm deadline.

We are proud to be the second largest post-secondary scholarship provider in Hawaii with over 150 scholarship funds established by generous individuals, families, businesses or organizations to assist our residents with their college aspirations. Last year, more than 2,300 Hawaii students received scholarship assistance from the Foundation with the release of $4.7 million in scholarship funds.

For the second year in a row, Hawaii News Now has been our valued media partner during the annual Scholarship season to highlight the impact the Foundation’s scholarships have not just on the recipients but on the donors as well. One of our donors, Karen White, still gets “chicken skin” when she thinks about how the scholarship she and her husband started, Ho’omaka Hou Scholarship, helped to change the life of a young man when he was released from Halawa Correctional Facility on March 1, 2006. He was appreciative enough to send a thank you note in 2008 where he shared how that scholarship allowed him to graduate from Honolulu Community College and a week later, secure an apprenticeship.

From the various personal stories we’ve heard over the years to the stories that are yet to be shared, we know that these scholarship funds will tremendously impact many of our residents. In a 2004 study by the Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society in New York, researchers validated that “giving to education is tied to social change.” We thank our generous donors for their continuing commitment to Hawaii’s students.