First Hawaiian Bank employees and their children wielded paint on long-handled rollers Saturday to kick off one of Hawaii 3R’s most ambitious projects to date: an effort by 1,000 volunteers from the bank to spruce up 21 public schools over seven Saturdays.

“Being a public-school guy myself, the more we can give back, the better,” said Bob Harrison, the bank’s chairman and CEO, who showed up at Nanakuli Elementary before 8 a.m. “There’s a lot of aloha for the public schools among our employees, many of whom are graduates or have children attending public school.”

Roughly 200 volunteers from the bank fanned out across the campuses of Nanakuli and Leihoku elementary schools and Waianae High, restriping parking lots and painting curbs, adding brightly colored hopscotch games at Leihoku, and green and yellow squares on walkways to help youngsters line up at Nanakuli.

First Hawaiian’s chief financial officer, Mike Ching, tried to keep his eager 4-year-old son Cameron and 9-year-old son Zachary on the straight — but not the narrow — as they painted large white letters for “THRU LANE” on the asphalt parking lot at Nanakuli.

“I’ll do the narrow ones,” he told them. “You do the H and the T.”

The job was easier on the walkways, where students and teachers had put down masking tape to help first-time painters stay within the lines.

Nanakuli Elementary Principal Lisa Higa beamed as bank employees worked alongside neighborhood volunteers who regularly help maintain the attractive, tree-lined school. Higa is known for showing up on weekends to pull weeds on the campus, where learning includes robotics and even an aquaponics operation that has kids raising fish, taro and sweet potatoes.

“To have the president of First Hawaiian Bank here, to have them all — from keiki to kupuna — coming to support us, instead of us seeking them out, it’s really exciting,” Higa said.

Hawaii 3R’s stands for Repair, Remodel, Restore Our Schools. Started in 2001 by the late U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye, the nonprofit attracts outside funding and “sweat equity” to help tackle repair and maintenance projects at public schools.

Along with labor, the bank donated $50,000 toward paint and other supplies.

“I like to make a difference,” said Viene Lam, an information technology manager who brought three of her children along to work. “We need to put out the word so more people help our schools.”

Nanakuli High School sophomore Ethan Batalona came back to help his old elementary school, repainting a yellow speed bump. He was pleased with how clean and tidy the campus looked, even before Saturday’s touch-up, with no peeling paint as there was in his day.

“It’s good,” he said. “It’s more nice. Our school used to be kind of a little bit off.”

Dann Carlson, assistant superintendent for School Facilities and Support Services, said the Department of Education has managed to cut its huge repair and maintenance backlog roughly in half with legislative support. But it’s a constant struggle as needs such as technology and air conditioning grow.

“Six years ago, the R&M backlog was close to $600 million,” said Carlson, who joined the volunteers Saturday. “We drove that down to around $200 to $300 million, but we anticipate it ticking back up.”

With a limited budget, state money tends to go to large-priority projects, while smaller needs such as beautification might fall by the wayside, although they are vital to school pride, he said.

Waianae High Principal Disa Hauge expects her students will appreciate the effort.

“It helps our kids feel important and valued by others whom they don’t even know, and that will inspire them to do the same for others,” she said. “It’s what families and communities do. They take care of each other.”

Hawaii 3R’s has had projects at nearly every public school campus over the last 14 years, generating an estimated $43 million in savings for the state and forging connections.

“Hawaii 3R’s is a gateway to actually owning the school,” said Alan Oshima, chairman of its board of directors. “It’s really about the community feeling pride in the schools again, getting onto the campuses and being part of it.”

He added: “Appearance is important in how people make decisions. They judge schools not only by what’s going on in the classrooms, but the safety and cleanliness. People want to help the schools, and this is a great way for people do that.”

Residents can also help by checking a box on their tax returns to donate $2 for school repair and maintenance, Oshima said. “That will really sustain these projects.”