South Hilo Rotary Donates 10K to BGCBI

BGCBI youth mahalo Rotary Club of South Hilo for their $10,000 donation. PC: BGCBI

The Rotary Club of South Hilo Foundation this week donated $10,000 to Boys & Girls Club of the Big Island to support BGCBI’s Hilo and Puna nutritional supplementation program.

Rotary Club President, Benson Medina, his wife Zelda and Rotarians Lani Weigert and Keith Greer visited Hilo Club to observe the meal service and other youth development programs.

A great need for the youth served at BGCBI is due to a lack of nutritional supplementation. Many BGCBI youth qualify for free or reduced lunches. For many, school lunch is their last meal of the day.

BGCBI stands out from other after-school programs because of the full, healthy meal program, according to a BGCBI press release. BGCBI served 12,995 meals at Hilo Club during the 2018-2019 school year and 4,505 snacks were served at Pāhoa Club.

Being able to serve BGCBI youth a full, healthy meal or snack before completing their homework has been beneficial during the organization’s academic program, Power Hour, the release said. The youth are more engaged, focused and determined to finish their assignments, the statement continued.

Roughly 20% of BGCBI families have a total annual income of $10,000 or less. BGCBI is striving to serve meals to youth at all its clubs.

Those interested in supporting the Boys & Girls Club of the Big Island youth development program may contact Gail Hamasu, Resource Development Director, by phone at 808-961-5536 or by email at gail@bgcbi.org.