Helping Hands Hawaii Plans School Supply Drive

Helping Hands Hawaii (HHH) is partnering with American Savings Bank (ASB) for the seventh year to raise funds and collect school supplies as part of its Ready to Learn (RTL) campaign. RTL provides free educational tools to help students from low-income and houseless families excel in the classroom. ASB is accepting school supplies and monetary donations from the community from June 14 to July 31, 2021, at all of its branches statewide. School supply donations collected on the neighbor islands will remain on those islands to benefit local students.

“As students return to the classroom this fall, we encourage our community to get behind them by making sure they have the school supplies they need to participate in classroom activities,” said HHH President and CEO Susan Furuta. “After many months of distance learning, Ready to Learn can help ease the transition back to school for students by ensuring their backpacks are full of the supplies they need.”

“American Savings Bank is happy to support the Ready to Learn program and equip local students with the supplies and resources they need to succeed in school,” said Ann Teranishi, ASB President & Chief Executive Officer. “We invite the community to join us once again to improve education for local students by making a donation at any of our locations across the state.”

School supply donations supplement pre-ordered inventory that is purchased with donated and grant-awarded funds for students of all grade levels. School supplies are assembled into kits containing common supplies found on the Department of Education’s back-to-school lists. Each kit is valued at approximately $25 each and the goal is to distribute 1,000 kits to students.

The top school supplies needed this year are: 

HOW THE COMMUNITY CAN GET INVOLVED

In addition to donating at the nearest American Savings Bank, individuals, organizations and corporations can organize their own fundraising drives or volunteer by completing a Community Partner form. An RTL team member will follow up with additional information and assistance. A list of RTL Community Partners and donation drop-off locations will be listed at www.HelpingHandsHawaii.org as information becomes available.

Additionally, the public can donate to the RTL program using the following methods:

Online: Visit www.HelpingHandsHawaii.org and click on the Donate button to make a gift. Select Ready to Learn from the drop-down menu.

Mail: Checks made payable to “Helping Hands Hawaii” can be mailed to Ready to Learn Program, c/o Helping Hands Hawaii, 2100 N. Nimitz Hwy., Honolulu, HI 96819. Write “Ready to Learn” in the memo section.

In-Person: Cash, check and school supply donations are accepted at all ASB branches from June 14 to July 31 or at Helping Hands Hawaii on Tuesdays from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (no appointment needed). For a list of ASB branches, visit www.asbhawaii.com/locations.