School Librarian Anne Torige asked people to buy books or donate funds to the library at the Barnes and Noble store in Kahala December 2 in response to a poor report card from the Western Association of School and Colleges accreditation team in June. The group noted many outdated library books from the 1970s and earlier, a direct result of an annual book and subscription budget of less than $15,000.
Robert Arakawa, 81, of Mo’ili’ili wrote the $10K check after reading about the library’s plight in the newspaper. “The children need books to do research,” Arakawa said. “The schools need help. I like to share my good fortune with others to make everyone happy.”
Ten boxes of donated books worth about $7,000 were delivered to the school December 6, and the bookstore agreed to supply $2,500 for more purchases. A local gas station promised to supply a multivolume science series. It’s “the best Christmas I’ve ever had,” Torige said.
Posted December 9, 2005.