Windward Mall is grateful for its community that came out to donate school supplies. The three school supplies in July gathered more than $6,600 in monetary donations and thousands of supplies to help more than 800 keiki and kumu in the He‘eia community get back-to-school ready.
“As we celebrate 40 years of loving local, we are grateful for our He‘eia ‘ohana who gathered together to give back to keiki in our community,” said Cesar Topacio, vice president, and senior general manager of Windward Mall. “We wouldn’t be who we are today without the community that has supported us for the last four decades and continues to support us as we move forward into the future.”
From June 24 through June 26, Windward Mall hosted a Castle Complex School Supply Drive with Representatives Scot Matayoshi and Lisa Kitagawa. In partnership with the Center’s ‘Ohana Night event, the community — including a large donation from Anchor Church — came out to donate about $6,000 in monetary donations and enough school supplies to provide more than 500 students with back-to-school kits that included a composition book, folder paper, crayons, markers, pens, pencils, eraser, glue, ruler, sharpie, expo marker, highlighter, scissors, etc. These supplies were distributed to schools in the Castle Complex, including ‘Āhuimanu, Ben Parker, Castle, He‘eia, Kahalu‘u, Kāne‘ohe, Kapunahala, King, Pū‘ōhala and Waiāhole.
Windward Mall also hosted the Salvation Army’s Cram the Van School Supply Drive on Saturday, July 23. The Salvation Army van was parked in the Macy’s parking lot and the community filled it with school supplies for haumāna in He‘eia. The drive collected $40 in monetary donations and more than 870 school supplies, including backpacks, pencils, folders, notebooks, sanitizers, scissors, markers, erasers, crayons and composition notebooks.
The following weekend, the Center hosted a Mahalo I Kau Kumu Gift Fair & School Supply Drive with Island Craft Fairs on Friday, July 29 and Saturday, July 30. The community came out to shop locally handcrafted goods and treats and drop off school supply donations to the info booth to enter to win an Xbox Series S. The drive collected $560 in monetary donations and enough supplies to support 13 teachers.
“These three school supply drives benefitted the He‘eia community and provided much-needed school supplies to haumāna,” said Gary Evora, Kamehameha Schools commercial real estate senior asset manager. “It’s important for our schools to have the resources they need to educate and support our learners and future ʻōiwi leaders.”
Windward Mall is grateful for its generous community and thrilled to be a Center that gives back to the community that has made it the gathering place for 40 years.
For more information, please visit us at www.windwardmall.com or follow @WindwardMall on Facebook or Instagram for the latest updates.
Kamehameha Schools’ policy is to give preference to applicants of Hawaiian ancestry to the extent permitted by law.
