Stephanie Kawamura of Kilauea was among the guests of the Hawai‘i Community Foundation scholarship event held last week at the Gaylord’s Restaurant. Kawamura and Rechaela Puou of Kapa‘a were recipients of the Safeway Foundation Hawai‘i Scholarship, one of three new
Stephanie Kawamura of Kilauea was among the guests of the Hawai‘i Community Foundation scholarship event held last week at the Gaylord’s Restaurant.
Kawamura and Rechaela Puou of Kapa‘a were recipients of the Safeway Foundation Hawai‘i Scholarship, one of three new scholarship funds established by HCF this year.
In addition to the Kaua‘i recipients, the Safeway Foundation also awards scholarships to students from Maui, the Big Island and O‘ahu, states a release from the HCF.
“The gathering celebrates the contributions of donors and this year, included honoring Ray Yoshida of the Ray Yoshida Fine Arts Scholarship, and Peter Dease of the Koloa Scholarship,” said Darcie Yukimura, the Kaua‘i director of HCF, in an e-mail. “These two gentlemen were beloved philanthropists with a visit to perpetuate education for Kaua‘i students.”
Three new scholarship funds were also celebrated at the gathering. These include Wayne Rapozo of the George and Augusta Scholarship Fund, Gerry Wolfe of the Safeway Foundation Hawai‘i Scholarship Fund, and Tad Miura, Sr. and his committee for the Takehiko Hasegawa Scholarship Fund.
Joining Kawamura and Puou, Benji Allan Baclig of Kaumakani, Lauren Baptiste of Kapa‘a, Mary Martin of Kapa‘a, and Micah Mizukami of ‘Ele‘ele were named recipients of the George and Augusta Rapozo Scholarship.
Pualani Ragasa of Kalaheo and Garrett Sakimae of Koloa were named as recipients of the Koloa Scholarship, and Jacqueline Remigio of Koloa was announced the recipient of the Takehko Hasegawa KCC Scholarship.
Mehana Vaughan of Kalihiwai was the beneficiary of the Takehiko Hasegawa Scholarship and Kenji Rutter of Kapa‘a was announced as the recipient of the Ray Yoshida Fine Arts Scholarship.
Yukimura said many other Kaua‘i’s students have been recipients of scholarships through the HCF, but this year’s gathering was to highlight scholarships that are established specifically for Kaua‘i students.
Each year, HCF awards more than $5 million in scholarships to students attending college or universities. This makes HCF the second-largest private provider of post-secondary scholarships in the state.
During the celebration, donors had an opportunity to meet their scholarship recipients, including one of whom tele-conferenced into the Gaylord’s restaurant from London.
In addition to the awarding of scholarships, Yukimura said the gathering serves to celebrate the bright future of these scholarship recipients.
