Zuckerbergs give $50K to Kauai education

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife have donated $50,000 to an endowment fund that supports Kauai’s elementary teachers and students.

“We are grateful beyond words,” said Ric Cox, president of Aloha Angels.

The Aloha Angels Endowed Fund at the Hawaii Community Foundation received the grant Thursday from the Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan Fund of the Silicon Valley Community Foundation. Zuckerberg, whom Forbes ranks as the fifth-richest person in the world with a net worth of $56 billion, owns 700 acres of land in Kilauea on the island’s north shore.

The endowment supports Adopt a Teacher, Adopt an After-School Club and other programs created and managed by Aloha Angels, an offshoot of the Rotary Club of Hanalei.

The program launched in 2013 after members asked principals and teachers what they needed for their schools. The conversations led to Aloha Angels donating money annually to elementary teachers to help fund school supplies and field trips.

Since its inception Aloha Angels has raised more than $2 million.

Through the endowment fund, over 200 elementary teachers at 13 schools each received $700 last year. The schools are Eleele, Hanalei, Kalaheo, Kapaa, Kekaha, Kilauea, Koloa and Wilcox, and four public charter schools: Kanuikapono, Kawaikini, Ke Kula Niihau and Kula Aupuni Niihau. Three elementary teachers at Puukumu School, a private school, also received funds from the endowment.

The endowment also supports after-school clubs at 10 schools. Fifty teachers who mentor students in various activities such as art, music, robotics and sports in the after-school clubs each receive $1,000 a year.

Wells Fargo ATMs will take phone codes

NEW YORK >> Wells Fargo said Tuesday it plans to upgrade all 13,000 of its ATMs next week to allow customers to access their funds using their cellphones instead of traditional bank cards.

While banks like JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America have announced similar upgrades to their ATMs, those are still being rolled out. Wells would be the first to upgrade all of its ATMs with the feature across the United States.

ON THE MOVE

Kaiser Permanente has hired physicians: Joining its Moanalua Medical Center are Dr. Roma Chawla, hospitalist; Dr. Serena Del Mundo, hospital medicine; Dr. Calle Ann Gonzales, pediatric critical care; Dr. Timothy Hiura, family medicine and hospital medicine; and Dr. Vasilios Lambrinos, hospital medicine.

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