This is a story about a man who never considered all the reasons not to try.

Herman Kiili called Pastor Steve Gray of First Baptist Church of Wahiawa.

“Herman said to me, ‘They’re going to close the hospital. We have to do something to help,’” Gray said. “And I said, ‘Herman, they need $6 million. You can’t raise that kind of money.’”

Undaunted, Herman responded, “We have to try.”

The pastor felt ashamed. Who was he to question such faith? OK, he said. How can we help?

It’s safe to say that Herman Kiili, 35, is well known in Wahiawa. He rides the bus everywhere, hosts open mic night at the local coffee bar, makes friends easily with his unguarded smile. Herman, who is developmentally disabled, serves on the Hawaii Self-Advocacy Advisory Council, which supports independence, leadership and community involvement for people with disabilities. He recently competed and won a gold medal in the Hawaii Special Olympics. Everything he has learned and worked for — that he has a voice and he can make a difference — led to that crystallizing moment last month when he first made people believe.

It was at a public meeting held by state Rep. Marcus Oshiro for his Wahiawa constituents to summarize the legislative session. About 150 people attended the meeting, where Oshiro presented a 30-slide PowerPoint briefing titled “We’re not out of the woods yet.” It detailed the struggles of Wahiawa General Hospital.

“Herman stood up and said, ‘I want to say something,’” Oshiro said. “He said, ‘We have to do something to save the hospital. We have to hold a car wash.’”

Oshiro smiles as he tells the story. Herman smiles hearing it being told.

“You could have heard a pin drop in the room,” Oshiro said. “And then, one voice called, out, ‘Yeah!’ And then people started applauding. And then Herman, he had me on the spot. He said, ‘What do you think, Marcus?’”

Oshiro quickly passed the ball, calling out to the hospital CEO, Don Olden, who was in attendance. “Don, what do you think?”

What could Olden say?

“For community relations and the spirit of connectedness, my vote would be yes,” Olden said.

That was all Herman needed. He started making calls, telling people that “Marcus and Don” said to call them.

A request was made this year for $6 million from the state Legislature to keep the hospital going long enough to consider other options, like merging with a larger health care system. The Legislature gave the hospital $2.5 million, which Olden hopes is enough to buy time to make plans.

What Herman did was give the community something to do rather than wait and hope. “It’s a car wash but it’s more than that,” Oshiro said.

Gray’s church helped to print fliers and presale tickets. Leilehua High School students will help to wash cars. Members of the UPW and ILWU are coming to help. The hospital nurses organized a washing team. A local senior citizens group will pass out refreshments to the volunteers. Herman has everything written down and organized in a binder. Everybody has assigned jobs. No one has refused Herman’s request.

“The community has a real tender heart for him,” Gray said. “If he says we ought to get together, who are we to say no?”

“You know what? All the guys I went to grad school with? I wish they could see how hard Herman works and how he struggles to do things,” Olden said.

Herman’s Car Wash Fundraiser will be from 9 a.m. till noon Saturday on Center Street, behind the hospital. Herman is charging $10 a car. Maybe he won’t raise millions of dollars. But who knows?

“This man is brilliant,” Olden said. “He got us all to do this.”

Reach Lee Cataluna at 529-4315 or lcataluna@staradvertiser.com.