The Clarence T.C. Ching Foundation has given $1.5 million to Kaimuki Christian School, the largest single donation ever received by the school.
The grant matches money raised by the school for its $7.8 million Clarence T.C. Ching Educational Center.
The foundation present-ed a check to the school May 15.
The center will include 10 classrooms and school administrative offices, and will adjoin the recently completed classroom building along Harding Avenue.
Kaimuki Christian School serves 350 students from preschool through ninth grade. The school is scheduled to have its first graduating high school class in 2016.
"The new Clarence T.C. Ching Educational Center will be an important component of the church and school’s master plan for the block, and we are extremely grateful to be part of the legacy of Clarence T.C. Ching," said Mark Gallagher, principal of the school.
Other grants:
» The HMSA Foundation gave a total of $125,822 to six local health programs and community organizations in the first quarter of 2013.
The single largest grant was $47,738 to Mental Health America of Hawaii, an organization that works to prevent youth bullying and suicide.
"Youth suicide and bullying are enormous problems in Hawaii," said Marya Grambs, the association’s executive director. "The number of suicides of young people has more than doubled in the past four years."
The HMSA Foundation also gave $43,084 to the University of Hawaii School of Social Work and Ha Kupuna, National Resource Center for Native Hawaiian Elders at UH. They are working to improve the health and well-being of kupuna, or Native Hawaiian elders, on Oahu.
The foundation also gave $15,000 to Catholic Charities Hawai‘i, $10,000 to St. Francis Healthcare Systems of Hawaii and $5,000 each to the Hawaii DARE Officers Association and the Hawaii Surfing Association.
» Producers of "Experience the Beatles with Rain" donated $17,675 to Straub Clinic & Hospital’s Rehabilitation Services from a benefit performance May 15. The amount represented the proceeds of that night’s performance of the Broadway musical.
The benefit performance at Blaisdell Concert Hall honored Straub health care providers and showcased the Straub employee band, whose members showed off their own Beatles-inspired outfits.
» The Natural Resources Conservation Service will make $433,292 in assistance available this year to help farmers, ranchers and forestland owners install conservation practices that manage nutrients, pathogens and sediments. Funding comes through the agency’s National Water Quality Initiative.
The application period ends June 21.
The NRCS will assist projects in nine watersheds where on-farm conservation investments have the best chance to improve water quality. All nine watersheds are in East Hawaii to benefit water quality in Hilo Bay. Six of the nine watersheds flow directly into Hilo Bay, and the other three watersheds are southeast of Hilo.
Interested applicants should contact Jessica Newpher, district conservationist, at the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, 154 Waianuenue Ave., Hilo, HI 96720.
» The Office of Hawaiian Affairs has given $40,000 to Family Promise of Hawaii to help Native Hawaiian families with children acquire housing.
Family Promise of Hawaii Executive Director Mary Saunders said the money will help about 60 Native Hawaiians in the program each year move into housing.
Family Promise engages a network of faith congregations across Oahu to rotate as hosts for homeless families. The nonprofit says more than 80 percent of participants usually transition into housing in three to four months.
There are 182 Family Promise affiliates in 41 states.
» HUGS (Help, Understanding & Group Support), a nonprofit organization that helps Hawaii families with seriously ill children, has received a $24,000 grant from Forever Giving, a nonprofit organization of Forever Living Products.
The 12-month grant supports the HUGS Emergency Airfare Fund for families with children needing medical services off-island.
"Many families cannot afford to physically be there with their child undergoing a procedure or surgery on the mainland, or in some cases on another island. This grant helps make it possible for our families to stay together during their most trying times away from home," HUGS interim CEO John Howell said in a news release.
