Tennis contribution inches toward KUW goal

POIPU — Carolyn Caylor of the Poipu Kai Association was thrilled the check was ready in time to contribute to the Kauai United Way Campaign Friday.

Caylor was joined by Herb and Krystyna Noe, coordinators of the Charity Doubles series of tennis matches, in presenting the Kauai United Way with a contribution of more than $6,300 to go toward helping the annual campaign.

“This represents several of the tournaments which Poipu Kai has held during the year,” Caylor said. “We’ll be sitting down to plan out this year’s schedule to help the Kauai United Way. We have a goal to break $50,000 in 2016.”

Since starting the Charity Doubles program to benefit the Kauai United Way in 2009, Poipu Kai has contributed more than $42,300. Additionally, there was a tournament where $1,400 was presented to the Toys for Tots program.

Scott Giarman, Kauai United Way executive director, was joined by Lynette Medrano-Stine, campaign development director and community lason, in accepting the contribution.

“We need to close out the 2015 campaign,” Giarman said. “The KUW annual meeting is coming up and we need to present the results of the campaign goal of $700,000, the largest goal, ever for the Kauai United Way. People are popping up wanting to include their contributions. It’s a very heartwarming feeling.”

Currently, the KUW is at 87 percent of its lofty goal.

“Tennis tends to be a localized sport,” Giarman said. “The organizers of the Poipu Kai Charity Doubles tennis tournaments — Krystyna and Herb Noe, and Carolyn Caylor — are proud that their tournaments draw participants from all over the island, as far away as the Westside and the North Shore. It is appropriate, then, that the beneficiaries of an islandwide benefit tennis tournament would be the Kauai United Way, our island’s umbrella social service organization that funds a broad spectrum of social services to benefit all the people of Kauai.”