LIHU‘E — Kumu’s Cupboard Co-Founder and President Elyse Litvack told Tyler Yee that his parents, Gordon and Yoli Yee, were longtime supporters of the free resource center for Kaua‘i’s educators.
“My father always said to support the local people,” said Tyler Yee, who is replacing Gordon Yee in Yeecorp, a financial-planning business. “My parents are very strong supporters of the community as demonstrated by their involvement in many of the nonprofits that care for the community good.”
Tyler Yee dropped off a donation in an undisclosed amount while visiting Kumu’s Cupboard last week.
Kumu’s Cupboard is a local nonprofit that provides resources for Kaua‘i’s educators non-budgeted materials that teachers would otherwise have to dip into their personal financial resources to provide for educating their students.
Both Tyler Yee and his parents are aware of the situation educators face because Tyler Yee’s wife has a background in teaching, and Yoli Yee was herself a teacher.
Contributions from individuals and companies are important to the operation of Kumu’s Cupboard. Those donations are more important during this time of COVID-19, when the nonprofit, like the teachers it serves, goes through added tasks to do their jobs while weighted by additional health and safety regulations.
The Grove Farm Foundation has a matching grant on the table now through Dec. 28. This is the sixth year Grove Farm has provided the opportunity to Kumu’s Cupboard.
“This makes a contribution have more impact,” Litvack said. “Under the terms of the matching grant, Grove Farm is matching donations to Kumu’s Cupboard up to a limit of $3,000.”
During the years leading up to COVID-19, Kumu’s Cupboard maintained a gift-wrapping station at Kukui Grove Center as a means to fundraise. This disappeared with the appearance of the novel coronavirus.
Fortunately, Sheila Bradley of Usborne Books and More, sustaining the same lack of exposure due to pandemic restrictions, will be hosting a book fair Saturday at the KGC food court from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. to benefit Kumu’s Cupboard.
“We were lucky to have The Shops at Kukui‘ula call us at the last minute so we could have a book fair at the shops on Black Friday,” Litvack said. “It was last-minute, but we did very well in terms of how many titles were picked up by parents. We were even luckier because a shopper saw the activity and, within an hour, had gone online and contributed to Kumu’s Cupboard.”
Litvack said the focus of Kumu’s Cupboard is to help teachers with whatever they have and however way they can.
w Info: kumuscupboard.org
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Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer and photographer, can be reached at 245-0453 or dfujimoto@thegardenisland.com.
