ALS Philanthropy – ALS Foundation of Hawaii

The Quest for Donated Wealth: My Take on the Mackenzie Money

July 23, 2021

ALS awareness, ALS Philanthropy, Hawaii ALS Residence, Help pALS

The recent news about marital splits among the two wealthiest couples who also happen to be the source of staggering amounts of money given to philanthropy has created a brouhaha amongst us in the non-profit world. We in the Board speculated with interest what the divorces meant – and it’s not because we have in any direct way benefitted from the Bezos or Gates fortune before the splits. We are just too far from the center of wealth to attract…

Show Your Stripes: Rare Disease Day

February 23, 2021

ALS awareness, ALS Philanthropy, ALSisAraredisease

I wonder if people are even aware that there is such a community. Probably not; until just a few years ago, our Katherine introduced me to a lady who advocates for this group. I even remember being interviewed, with Katherine, for Olelo to shed light on two of the more than 7,000 illnesses that are considered rare. Katherine talked about glioblastoma and I discussed ALS. Katherine could have covered both – since two of her brothers had rare diseases AND…

August Babies: Katherine and Divina Request Donations for Birthdays

August 24, 2020

#ALSinCOVID, ALS Philanthropy, Fundraising Project, Hawaii ALS Residence

August 24, 2020, Kailua. – The pandemic has dramatically and irrevocably changed the landscape of life on earth. In the non-profit sector, fundraising is made more difficult by the combination of continuing need for public support and the restrictions on in-person contact. Consequently, non-profits switch to socially distant ways of requesting for needed support. We, at ALSFH, are still understanding the challenges of fundraising mainly by social media. Aside from being a non-techie three-member Board, we also have no paid…

Donate to ALSFH through Foodland’s “Give Aloha” Campaign

August 23, 2020

ALS Philanthropy, Fundraising Project, Hawaii ALS Residence, News, Partners

August 23, 2020, Kailua, HI. – According to Wikipedia, an Irish immigrant, Maurice J. “Sully” Sullivan and See Goo Lau together founded Foodland Super Markets – the oldest, largest, and only locally-owned supermarket chain in Hawaii. The grocery store chain is in all islands although some have been closed recently due to competition from big-box stores, according to Jenai S. Wall, Sullivan’s daughter and current company President and CEO. Despite these changes, Foodland continues to hold its annual “Give Aloha”…

Leni Marie Acosta Knight: A Gift of Art from the Heart

August 17, 2020

ALS awareness, ALS Philanthropy, Fundraising Project, Hawaii ALS Residence, News, Partners

August 15, 2020, Kailua – Where there is kindness among people, there is hope for our human race, especially in these uncertain times. One such kind person is Leni Marie Acosta Knight, a petite, soft-spoken, unassuming lady who was still in her teens when she migrated with her family from the Philippines to join her dad in the United States. When she arrived in Hawaii, she attended school, then moved to Los Angeles, starting a career in commodities and real…

Gleason House for pALS: The House that a Post-Hurricane Celebrity Built

January 14, 2020

ALS awareness, ALS Philanthropy, Events, Helpin pALS, Networking/Learning Opportunities, News

January 14, 2020, Kailua, HI: Tomorrow, coinciding with the opening of the 116th US Congress in Washington, a man in a power wheelchair will roll on to receive the US Congressional Gold Medal of Honor, the highest civilian award given by Congress. It had been given to only 163 civilian entities, the first recipient being George Washington- the first President of the nation – in 1776. Steve Gleason, is truly a man of destiny. His celebrity arises from the confluence…

An Open Letter to Bill Gates, on the Occasion of Receiving the Professor Hawking Fellowship Award

November 27, 2019

ALS awareness, ALS Philanthropy, Events, Help pALS, News

Dear Bill, I just read your 2019 Professor Hawking Fellowship lecture delivered in Cambridge. I am grateful that you have taken up global health as focus for your philanthropy. My background is public (international) health, so I understood every bit of your concern. I was born in the Philippines when it was still a developing nation. In 1976, after graduation from Nursing, I joined the faculty of the UP Institute of Health Sciences. At that time, it was creating…