Shirley is so very generous. She is so generous to the point that even though she doesn’t have much, she continues to give to others.
She shares anything she has with her friends and family. She lives with her family, but they all work, so she comes to the senior center every day. She is always smiling, socializing and giving presents to her friends on their birthdays.
If someone were to give Shirley a gift just for Christmas, it would fill her heart with so much joy.
Another person getting by with a little help from her friends is Sueanne. She has a long, troubled history, which resulted in losing custody of her son. However, Sueanne has been clean for three years, works as a manager, has stable housing and now gets regular visits with her son.
The Garden Island/Zonta Club Christmas Fund helps people like these two women this holiday season.
Through strong community support, the fund is off to a great start. The community matched a $5,000 pledge by the Hale Uluwehi Kauai Fund, which then pledged to match donations of $100 or more up to $10,000.
Here’s how the program works.
Families apply for assistance through social service agencies, which in turn connect with the Zonta Club of Kauai. It uses donations to buy gift certificates for those in need. The certificates can be used for gifts and groceries.
Each donated dollar is accounted for and carefully recorded. There are no administrators collecting salaries. This is run by volunteers like 92-year-old Yoshiko “Dimples” Kano, who has led the fund drive for two decades.
The Garden Island shares daily stories about those who could use assistance this holiday season. While the names are not real, the situations described are.
If you hold a fundraiser for the Christmas Fund, let us know and we’ll spread the word. Anyone making a donation of $50 or more may have his or her picture presenting the check published in TGI.
The fund accepts only monetary donations. Checks payable to Zonta Club of Kauai Foundation may be mailed to P.O. Box 3032, Lihue, HI 96766. For more information, call 822-4517.
