HONOLULU n Locally-grown Easter Lily plants are on sale at all Foodland and Sack ‘N Save stores statewide, through April 10, to benefit Easter Seals Hawai‘i. For the fifth year in a row, Howard’s Nurseries in Kula, Maui has partnered
HONOLULU n Locally-grown Easter Lily plants are on sale at all Foodland and Sack ‘N Save stores statewide, through April 10, to benefit Easter Seals Hawai‘i. For the fifth year in a row, Howard’s Nurseries in Kula, Maui has partnered with Foodland to help raise funds for Easter Seals Hawai‘i’s programs and services for children and adults of all ages with disabilities. The Easter Lily plants are specially cultivated and grown on Howard’s Nurseries farm in Kula, Maui. Young Brothers donates inter-island transportation services and the plants are then distributed and sold in Foodland and Sack ‘N Save supermarkets through out the state for the Easter Seals Hawai‘i benefit sale.
“The Easter Lily plants are exceptional this year,” said Howard Takishita, owner of Howard’s Nurseries. “The quality of the Easter Lily plant is determined by the number of flower buds on the plant. Standard Easter Lily plants have an average of three or four buds, but the Easter Lily plants we’re sending to Foodland will have an average of seven to nine buds.”
The Easter Lily, a symbol of spring and resurrection, was adopted by Easter Seals in 1952 as the organization’s official symbol representing their mission of “bringing new life to people with disabilities.”
A portion of each Easter Lily plant sale will be donated by Howard’s Nurseries to Easter Seals Hawai‘i. As with all donations received or raised by Easter Seals Hawai‘i, all funds raised stay in Hawai’i to benefit the 25 programs and services for children and adults with disabilities on O‘ahu, Kaua‘i, Maui, Lana‘i, Moloka‘i and the Big Island.
Takishita was one of the first children on Maui to benefit from Easter Seals Hawai‘i services when he was just 3 years old. Today, Takishita is 53 years old and the owner of one of the largest landscape plant and flower farms in the state. Takishita fondly remembers the exceptional and loving care he received from Easter Seals Hawai‘i as a child and sees his annual Easter Lily benefit with Foodland and Young Brothers as a way of giving back to the organization.
“We are truly grateful for Howard’s Nurseries, Young Brothers and Foodland’s enormous generosity and creativity in sponsoring this wonderful Easter Lily fundraising promotion each year,” said John Howell, president and CEO of Easter Seals Hawai‘i. “It is a win-win for everyone in the community. Beautiful Easter Lily plants will grace the homes and businesses throughout our state and Easter Seals Hawai‘i will be able to receive important funding for our vital programs.”
