Hawaii Baptist, isle businesses aid Harvey relief

Hawaii Baptist Academy is one of a number of local groups and businesses donating funds to victims devastated by Hurricane Harvey.

The Christian academy announced Friday it was sending $10,000 to the North American Mission Board, an organization that oversees the disaster relief ministry of the Hawaii Pacific Baptist Convention. The donation is from the academy as well as its Parent-Teacher Fellowship, which recently raised funds through a fun fair, according to Hawaii Baptist Academy President Ron Shiira.

As part of the Southern Baptist denomination, the school has received generous donations in the past from church members on the U.S. mainland, Shiira said.

“We have a large number of donors that live in Texas, throughout the Houston area,” he said. “We felt like they’re in need now and it’s our turn to give back, so together with our parents’ group, we did that. It’s a good way to teach our students how to give back.”

Shiira expects the academy, with a student body of about 1,000 in kindergarten to 12th grade, to raise more funds in coming weeks, through collection containers at each of three campuses and in response to a letter he sent Friday, inviting families to make donations.

The disaster relief ministry already has infrastructure in place to assist victims, Shiira said, so he feels confident 100 percent of the funds will go toward the needs of people in Houston. Volunteers from the church are also on the ground in Texas, assisting victims, he said.

Other businesses have also launched the following Harvey fundraising initiatives:

>> Crazy Shirts announced Thursday that it has donated $5,000 to the American Red Cross and more than 4,000 fresh clothing items to help those impacted by the storm. It also launched an “Aloha for Texas” T-shirt available online and at retail stores. Proceeds from the tees, which retail for $29, will go to cash and in-kind donations totaling up to $25,000 to help those affected by Hurricane Harvey, the company said in a news release.

>> First Hawaiian Bank has donated the first $25,000 to its newly established Aloha Relief for Harvey Fund, with all of its branches serving as community donation collection points. All contributions will be donated to the American Red Cross to assist with Hurricane Harvey relief efforts, according to First Hawaiian Chairman and CEO Bob Harrison.

Contributions to the fund may be made at any First Hawaiian branch in Hawaii, Guam and Saipan through Sept. 30.

>> Yauatcha Waikiki, in solidarity with its sister restaurant in Houston, is donating 15 percent of proceeds from the sales of selected menu items through Oct. 1 to the Greater Houston Community Foundation. The menu items include a $14 lychee and rose martini crafted specifically for the initiative, a $12 sea prawns dumpling with caviar dish and $12 raspberry delice dessert.

Yauatcha Waikiki, a contemporary Chinese dim sum teahouse, is on the third level at International Market Place.