First Hawaiian Bank donates $250K to Blood Bank of Hawaii through its ‘Aloha For Hawaii’ takeout initiative
COURTESY FIRST HAWAIIAN BANK
First Hawaiian Bank today announced that the “Aloha for Hawaii” campaign raised $250,000 in donations to the Blood Bank of Hawaii.
First Hawaiian Bank today announced that the “Aloha for Hawaii” campaign is donating $250,000 to the Blood Bank of Hawaii.
The gift is the result of another 250,000 restaurant takeout and delivery purchases made by FHB cardholders.
Every time customers use their FHB debit or credit card for takeout or delivery from Hawaii restaurants, the bank donates $1 to the Aloha for Hawaii fund, established to support nonprofits providing services to those impacted by COVID-19. The initiative was launched in mid-April.
To date, First Hawaiian Bank Foundation’s total contributions amount to $775,000. Other nonprofits that have received donations include Hawaii Meals on Wheels, Maui Food Bank, Child and Family Service, Aloha Harvest, and Hawaii Foodbank, among others.
First Hawaiian Bank’s goal is to generate a million takeout orders to donate $1 million to select nonprofits during the campaign.
“Blood Bank of Hawaii is a vital community resource, working to ensure that our blood supply is safely replenished during this pandemic,” said Cameron Nekota, president of the First Hawaiian Bank Foundation, in a news release. “With the ‘Aloha for Hawaii’ initiative, the restaurant industry is being supported through meal purchases from our card holders and First Hawaiian is providing funding to non-profit organizations working to meet the COVID-19 relief needs of our community. This has truly been a way for our community to join together in showing our ‘Aloha for Hawaii’.”
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Dr. Kim-Anh Nguyen, CEO of Blood Bank of Hawaii, said the generous donation will help the nonprofit improve its logistics and replace its aging fleet.
“It will also help us to prepare for future public health needs; to implement innovative initiatives like COVID-19 Convalescent Plasma, new tests and therapies for emerging infections, and transfusion technologies to enable the new medical treatments developed and used in Hawaii’s hospitals,” she said in a statement. “With the support of nonprofit champions like First Hawaiian Bank, we feel confident that there is nothing that we cannot accomplish, together, for the good of our community.”
When stay-at-home orders forced the cancellation of blood drives across the state, Blood Bank of Hawaii saw a loss of 80% of Hawaii’s blood supply. The nonprofit quickly set up pop up locations to collect blood donations seven days week. A single blood donation can save up to three lives.
More information about the #AlohaForHawaii initiative is available at fhb.com/aloha.
