LIHUE — The timing for the school supplies could not have been better, said Linda Uyehara, principal of the Koloa Elementary School. “This is a great Monday,” Uyehara said at the Lihue Civic Center, Pi‘ikoi Building. “We have our science
LIHUE — The timing for the school supplies could not have been better, said Linda Uyehara, principal of the Koloa Elementary School.
“This is a great Monday,” Uyehara said at the Lihue Civic Center, Pi‘ikoi Building. “We have our science fair coming up and a lot of these supplies like composition books, page protectors, and binders are all used by the students for their projects. We can always use these supplies for everyday, too.”
Linda and her husband Steven were on hand to receive the school supplies collection from the Retired Senior Volunteer Program as well as Mayor Bernard Carvalho, Jr.
“The timing was perfect,” said Donna Olivas, RSVP director who took the reins of the office in mid-January. “My first day in this office was on Martin Luther King Day, and I was able to be part of this collection which was done as part of the MLK Day celebration and the National Day of Service.”
Olivas said the collection got big help from the Cub Scouts in Cub Pack 148, sponsored by the Lihue Christian Church, who went out and conducted their own school supplies collection as a service project, and added their collection to the one hosted by RSVP.
“We had the Girl Scouts from Troop 823 assisting at one of the collection days in front of the Big Kmart store,” Olivas said. “And we ended up purchasing more than $1,000 in supplies because of the generosity from the Kauai Board of Realtors.”
Olivas said RSVP works with the Department of Education to determine which school will be the recipient of the collection.
“Last year, the collection was presented to the Waimea Canyon Middle School,” Olivas said. “And previously, I believe we had a collection done for Kapaa. This year, the DOE determined Koloa as the recipient.”
Uyehara said Koloa School appreciates the community’s generosity.
“We are so grateful for everyone in the community who contributes,” Uyehara said. “These supplies will be definitely put to good use. This amount will help us make it through the remainder of this school year, and if there are any left over, it’ll help us get started in the next year.”
