Two Big Island Hotels Donate to Fight Against COVID-19

Hotel Fairmont Orchid donated 1,580 masks to local healthcare workers Friday. PC: Hotel Fairmont Orchid

Hawai‘i Island hotels are donating supplies as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to keep several businesses closed and most Big Island residents confined to their homes.

On Friday, Kona Beach Hotel donated more than 2,000 pounds of food including fresh papayas and eggs to the Hawai‘i Food Basket — Hawai‘i Island’s food bank. The hotel also provided the West Hawai‘i Community Health Center by providing cases of toilet paper and facial tissue.

“Aloha is at the heart of the hospitality industry and we are proud to do our part to help some of the most vulnerable members of our community get access to basic items like fresh food and toiletries,” said Scott Pauli, general manager of the Kona Beach Hotel. “It is more important than ever to care for and support one another — it’s been inspiring to see our community work together as we all navigate through this uncertain time.”

Hotel Fairmont Orchid was also in a giving mood Friday when it donated 1,580 masks to Big Island hospitals and clinics.

Dr. Sylvia Sonnenschien, an internist based in Waimea, picked up the masks to distribute to the North Hawai‘i Community Hospital, Kohala Hospital in Kapa‘au and Hāmākua Kohala Health FQHC, which covers their three clinics.

“The Fairmont Orchid team is honored to collaborate with local health officials to do our part in the fight against the spread of COVID-19,” said Charles Head, general manager of Hotel Fairmont Orchid. “We are truly humbled by the extraordinary efforts demonstrated by our island’s medical personnel and government agencies.”