Community

Building Our Community

In 2009, the James Campbell Company’s Community Fund and the James & Abigail Campbell Family ­Foundation joined forces to commit a combined total of $949,500 to programs primarily benefitting ­communities in Leeward O‘ahu.

Public school education was a major priority area for both funds, garnering the lion’s share of more than 30 percent of total giving. This included ­scholarships for graduating high school seniors and for University of Hawai‘i student teachers from West O‘ahu who wish to return to teach in their ­communities. A major grant also went to the Hawai‘i High School Athletic Association to help save many public high school sports that were in danger of ­losing funding due to the statewide budget crisis.

More than $80,000 in grants went to social service organizations such as Catholic Charities of Hawai‘i and Family Promise of Hawai‘i, who provide desperately needed shelter for the homeless, and to programs like Aloha Harvest, Hawai‘i Foodbank, Hawaii Meals on Wheels, and Save the FoodBasket who supply food for the growing ranks of the hungry.

We also recognized that culture and the arts play vital roles in enriching community life by bringing a sense of celebration to already stressful lives. We ­supported community events like Kapolei City Lights and Wai’anae’s Sunset on the Beach. We also funded the third annual non-competitive Lei O Lanikuhonua hula festival, which featured renowned hula masters who shared their knowledge with high school hula students.

Capital grants totaling $300,000 supported three organizations that are building major facilities to serve West O‘ahu communities — Goodwill Industries’ ‘Ohana Career & Learning Center, Ma-lama Learning ­Center, and the Salvation Army’s Kroc Community Center. practices that restore the balance between the land and the people.