The Garden Island and the Zonta Club of Kaua’i are again teaming up with the community to try and make the holidays a little happier for those in need. Every year, the community makes donations to the Zonta/Garden Island Christmas
The Garden Island and the Zonta Club of Kaua’i are again teaming up with the
community to try and make the holidays a little happier for those in
need.
Every year, the community makes donations to the Zonta/Garden Island
Christmas Fund.
With the help of community agencies, Zonta Club members
identify families who will not have a merry Christmas without our help. Every
day from now until Christmas, The Garden Island will publish stories about some
of our neighbors who could use some assistance. The names have been changed to
protect their privacy but the stories are all actual case histories of people
living on Kaua’i.
Monies collected are used to fulfill their wishes
whenever possible.
Checks and money orders may be sent to Zonta/Garden
Island Christmas Fund, c/o The Garden Island, P.O. Box 231, Lihue HI 96766.
Donations may also be dropped off at The Garden Island office at 3137 Kuhio
Highway in Lihu’e during office hours from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Because of
space limitations, people are asked to refrain from bringing in used goods.
Monetary donations are preferred.
Alan is a 49 years old single
person who has been living alone for a number of years now and spends his time
fishing. He has not been able to work since after hurricane Iniki and he lost
all of his earnings because he was an alcoholic. He fends for his needs using
what “mother-nature” has to offer by way of the ocean and mountain.
He lives with friends and family at times but would prefer living by himself.
He would like to fix his boat and start his own fishing business. For the
holiday, he would appreciate having a new fishing pole and a fishing outfit to
use when he is diving. He catches his meal daily and with the new outfit he can
catch more fish to sell to friends that would in turn help him buy the
necessities that he needs.
Sherry is a strong-willed mother with a
strong-willed husband George. They are proud parents of five children. They
were young when they got married and had children one after another. The
parents have tried their best to provide for their children but with only the
father providing for all the family, things can get hard on many occasions.
They can not afford a second car for Sherry to go to work. They have one
car to shuttle her husband to work and children to school. The oldest child,
Rita, who is 12, is living with the grandparents on the mainland because they
provided and cared for her since the day she was born.
She has not come to
visit for a while now. Sherry’s four other children are Nancy, 11, Kathy, 9,
Jimmy, 8 and Lynne, 6. All live at home with the parents. Both parents miss
their oldest child and wish they could send her things that would let her know
they love her. Unfortunately, they have not been able to send her anything
either because their finances are very limited. For the holidays, the family
would appreciate a gift certificate that will allow them to buy things to send
to their daughter who is away as well as buy things for the four other children
living at home. They will also appreciate having little gifts that they can
open for Christmas and bags of groceries to enjoy a good meal during the
holiday.
Billy is a 68 year old widower who lives alone in Elderly
Housing. He has a terminal liver disease and requires assistance to remain
living outside of a carehome or long term care situation.
He recently
moved to Kaua’i from Molokai where his son and family assist with cooking,
cleaning, laundry, shopping and take him to his doctor’s appointments. When he
moved, he sold all of his furniture as he was told that he would only have a
short time to live. Due to limited funds, he is unable to purchase his own bed
or furniture for his living room. Currently, he borrowed a single bed from his
son to sleep in. He has 3 plastic lawn chairs in his living room and a table
that his families’ photos are placed on. He is requesting a bed of his own,
some bedding, warm blankets and a couch or sofa for his living room.
He
also takes herbal supplements such as Shark Cartilage, Selenium, Beta-Carotene,
Milk Thistle, St. John’s Wort and CQ10, which helps his liver and gives him
more energy. Unfortunately he is unable to afford all of the herbal supplements
each month due to his limited income, he purchases whatever he can afford one
month, then purchases the other the next month.
Billy would greatly
appreciate any donation given. He truly believes that his faith in God has
helped him to live as long as he has.
