Kudos to entertainer Loretta Ables Sayre, who’s helping the sweltering kids at Nanakuli High and Intermediate School secure portable fans to get through this lingering, oppressive humidity. She launched a campaign via her Facebook page last week, asking for donations so she could buy 250 fans to bring some relief since Department of Education budgets (and red tape) prevented immediate acquisition of oscillating fans for the hot-zone area.
She knows; she’s been tutoring kids at the Nanakuli Performing Arts Center, and, as she noted, temps can reach 100 degrees. "This is not a situation that is conducive to optimum health or optimum learning," said Ables Sayre.
Her plea went viral, getting 30,000 hits in three days, and checks arrived enabling her to purchase
106 fans as of Friday. Her publicist husband, David Sayre, sent out a press release, and a hurricane of aloha and support evolved: radio and TV interviews and coverage, plus queries from other "hot" communities on how to get fans for other schools.
"We bought 10 fans at Walmart for $21.84 each," she said in an email. "The next day, they were on sale at Longs for $19.99 and we brought our receipt and the Longs ad to Walmart." The store matched the lower price; the refund meant another fan could be purchased.
Ables Sayre, a Tony-nominated actress and singer from Broadway’s "South Pacific," said she was a novice in this kind of fundraising, but her transparency and timing have clicked. Everyone’s experiencing the ickysticky weather, so soliciting kokua was easy. She’s working with Robin Kitsu, Nanakuli arts center director, to facilitate this project.
To join the effort, mail a check made out to "Cash," with "Fans for Nanakuli" in the memo line; she will send you a photocopy receipt to verify fan purchases. Mail checks to Loretta Ables Sayre, P.O. Box 893070, Mililani HI 96789.
Waiting for bureaucracy to rescue these wilting kids was not a solution; the first delivery of 106 fans was a start.
"David and I have no children," she said. "But when you spend time with kids that are suffering in this heat and you see them frustrated with no voice, you just jump in and do what you have to do." She put the "able" in Ables Sayre to make a difference.
KIM CHEER: Daniel Dae Kim, who plays Chin Ho Kelly on CBS’ "Hawaii Five0," is partnering in projects beyond the small screen.
Kim’s production company 3AD and Sriram Das’ Das Films ("The November Man") are developing a feature film titled "Escaping North Korea: Defiance and Hope in the World’s Most Repressive Country," based on a Mike Kim memoir. The South Korean-born actor is not related to the author, but will portray him in the film.
The dramatic tale, to be adapted by Rosalind Ross, is based on writer Kim’s account of a high-risk, high-tension mission to bring refugees over the North Korean border through Southeast Asia via an underground railroad. Over four years he assisted thousands to safety despite escalated border issues still prevalent today. …
Meanwhile on "Five-0," Kim’s character will be involved in an emerging bond with a new detective to be played by Julie Benz ("Dexter") over three episodes. …
And Deadline reports that Sarah Carter ("Falling Skies") will figure in a "Five0" story arc as Lynn, with anticipated sparks with Steve McGarrett (Alex O’Loughlin). Which prompts the question, Is Michelle Borth’s Catherine, McG’s sweetie reintroduced in the Season 5 finale, out in the cold? Those awkward family figures (think Christine Lahti’s Mama McGarrett) have been bumped in favor of new gal pals for the force. …
And that’s "Show Biz." …
Wayne Harada is a veteran entertainment columnist; reach him at 266-0926 or wayneharada@gmail.com; read his “Show and Tell Hawaii” blog at www.staradvertiser.com.
