Dinner fundraiser features chefs from Prince Resorts

Prince Resorts Hawaii is holding a dinner fundraiser for Japan disaster relief Friday at 5:30 p.m. at the Hawaii Prince Hotel Waikiki’s Mauna Kea Ballroom.

“There is still a great need in Japan for disaster relief funds, and we are pleased to provide the community with a further opportunity to lend support and aloha for the recovery,” Donn Takahashi, president of Prince Resorts Hawaii, said in a news release.

Prince Resorts chefs George Gomes Jr. (Mauna Kea Resort), Khamtan Tanhchaleun (Hawaii Prince Hotel Waikiki), Masami Shimoyama (Hawaii Prince Waikiki’s Hakone Restaurant) and Peter Abarcar Jr. (Hapuna Beach Prince Hotel) will showcase their signature dishes.

Willie K, Palolo with Troy Fernandez and Jon Basebase will provide entertainment. The event will also have a silent auction and a raffle giveaway of a trip for two to Las Vegas.

Proceeds will go to the Japan-American Society of Hawaii for donation to the Japanese Red Cross Society.

Tickets are $150 ($125 pre-sale), $1,200 for silver sponsorship and reserved tables with seating for 10, $2,500 for gold sponsorship and reserved tables with seating for 10 with served dishes and wines, and $5,000 for platinum sponsors with VIP tables with seating for 10 plus served dishes and premium wines and program acknowledgement.

An event/room/breakfast package is also available at $355 per couple.

Call 944-4488 or email to LokomaikaiForJapan@PrinceHawaii.com.

Student efforts include garden sales, crane folding

Hawaii schools have been active with fundraising and other disaster-relief efforts. Here are some of them:

» Carden Academy in Pukalani, Maui, raised more than $10,000 through several creative methods, including a “Jeans for Japan Day” in which people donated money to wear jeans to school or work on March 25. Students also distributed donation containers and made jewelry with artist Mari Diller to sell for charity.

» Saint Louis School students, staff and others raised more than $2,000. Students also crafted 1,000 paper cranes, which will be displayed at a check-in counter at Hanamaki Airport, near the tsunami-ravaged region.

» A first-grade class at Webling Elementary School in Aiea raised about $1,000 by selling produce and sunflowers as part of its Garden to Market learning unit. Members of the community bought produce grown by the children.

FHB donating $25,000 to aid displaced Japanese

First Hawaiian Bank will donate $25,000 to The Aloha Initiative, and people may donate to this cause at any FHB branch through June 30, the bank announced Monday.

The Aloha Initiative is a program of the Japanese Cultural Society of Maui to provide citizens of Japan displaced by the March earthquake, tsunami and nuclear crisis with a temporary home in Hawaii.

Japan residents will be selected based on greatest personal need and circumstance. Those chosen will be flown to Hawaii and spend up to 90 days with host families. The Aloha Initiative will pay for ground and air transportation.

“We plan to commence The Aloha Initiative trips in June and are in the process of matching Hawaii host families with at least 100 individuals of highest and greatest need,” Keith Regan, co-founder of The Aloha Initiative and past president of the Japanese Cultural Society of Maui, said in a news release.