by Kalowena Komeiji
Director of Communications

Karen White sometimes volunteers at the Foundation’s office.  Karen is also a scholarships donor.  Earlier this year, Karen shared a letter she received – a heartfelt letter – from a young man who had benefited from her scholarship fund.  Donors like Karen are always appreciative of thank you letters from people they’ve helped.  The young man wrote that he had completed vocational training at Honolulu Community College and was now working as an electrician for a local company.  But this was no ordinary letter.

What struck Karen – and us – is that Karen’s scholarship gave this young man more than workforce training.  It also gave him a second chance when he needed it most.  He had served time in prison and upon his release from Halawa, he hadn’t a clue what he would do.  He wanted Karen to know that he was grateful for the hand-up she provided through this scholarship fund at the Foundation.

This was a roundabout way of illustrating not just the impact of philanthropy to change lives one at a time, but the scholarships offered at the Foundation cover both 4-year and 2-year programs.  Our scholarships program is not just for recent high school graduates but those in pursuit of post-high school education.  If you’d like to contribute to a scholarship fund here, you can now do so by clicking on the “Give Now” button that was recently added to our webpage.

Oh, and if you or someone you know might be interested in applying for a vocational educational scholarship, the deadline to apply is July 1st – just around the corner, so don’t wait.