Yesterday, the Hawaiʻi State Teachers Association (HSTA) and Kamehameha Schools distributed more than 800 backpacks at an event sponsored by the Hawaiʻi State Department of Education at The Westin Maui Resort & Spa, Kāʻanapali.

The partnership between HSTA and Kamehameha Schools took shape after the Aug. 8 wildfires destroyed King Kamehameha III Elementary School and temporarily closed three others: Lahainaluna High, Lahaina Intermediate, and Princess Nahiʻenaʻena Elementary.

Kamehameha Schools provided the school supplies and secured a donation of 3,000 backpacks from Lands’ End. Last September, volunteers comprised of teachers and retirees, HSTA and Kamehameha Schools staff, gathered at Windward Mall on Oʻahu to fill the backpacks with supplies, pack them into boxes, and load them onto a Matson shipping container. Each backpack included a special handmade card created by keiki and ‘ohana who participate in one of the many community programs supported by Kamehameha Schools.

Prior to yesterday’s event, over 400 backpacks with supplies were distributed prior including 200 to Ke Kula Kaiapuni ma Lahaina (Lahaina-area Hawaiian language immersion schools) and 200 more to displaced Lahainaluna High students at Kūlanihākoʻi High in Kihei.

The remaining backpacks will be available for distribution by the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU), The Westin Maui Resort & Spa, and Lahaina-area schools.

 

Photo credit: Hawaiʻi State Teachers Association