Special Olympics West Hawaii thanks the many people — individuals, law enforcement officers, businesses, organizations, sponsors and local media — who made our annual Fueling Dreams fundraiser at the Queen Kaahumanu Tesoro station a huge success.
Because of your extraordinary efforts, generousity and pure aloha, $4,121.73 was raised in two days. All of the raised money will stay in West Hawaii. It will be used to help our athletes attend competitions on Maui and Oahu, as well as pay for sports equipment and uniforms.
Monetary gains such as this also help Special Olympics West Hawaii fulfill its purpose of providing year-round sports training and competition for children and adults with intellectual disabilities. By participating in such sports, physical fitness and healthcare education programs, athletes increase self-confidence and social skills, improve physical and motor skills, and have better success in leading more productive and independent lives.
We would like to give a special kudos to the Hawaii Police Department, U.S. Customs, Tesoro Hawaii, Knights of Columbus, and West Hawaii Today. You rock!
Also, thanks to Hawaii247.org and KonaWeb.com for announcing and sharing the event with the online community.
West Hawaii Today reporter Erin Miller wrote a fantastic article about the Fueling Dreams fundraiser, which was published April 3 and can be viewed on the newspaper’s Web site. Here’s an excerpt:
The smiles on athletes’ faces as they play their hearts out and the high-fives afterward, no matter the final score — those rewards are the driving force that keep volunteers like Walter Ah Mow at events like the Fueling Dreams fundraiser for Special Olympics that ends Friday afternoon.
“To see their faces, no words can explain it,” Ah Mow said.
Ah Mow, a detective, was one of several police officers and other volunteers who spent about six hours on Thursday turning the self-serve Queen Kaahumanu Tesoro station into a full-service experience. The change was done at no charge, but other Special Olympics volunteers, athletes and their families were standing by to talk more about the program and ask for donations.
Congratulations to all for a job well done. Mahalo for fueling dreams.
Please enjoy the following photos, taken by SOWH volunteer coordinator KC Strand, at this year’s event. To see the entire album, click here.
9:00 am on April 8th, 2009
WOW! What else can you say but WOW! Our Fueling Dreams fundraiser was an exciting success. I am proud to report that we reached the goal we set! We received a lot of support from the community and volunteers. There were a lot of new volunteers that showed up to help. To them, we want to extend a warm family welcome! We look forward to seeing them at future events! There were also numerous return volunteers helping out and keeping things flowing smoothly. Mahalo to you, we’d be lost without you! On behalf of the Special Olympics West Hawaii program, I want to send out a big MAHALO to The Knights of Columbus, to all the staff at Hawaii Police Department, Detective Walter AhMow, Detective Rene Morinaka, Sergeant Rollin Rabara and to the Tesoro crew District Manager Matt Gustavson, Store Manager Tini, Assistant manager, Noe and owner of Tesoro Capt Al Gustavson for all their help and support. Without all of them, this would have never been possible. Detective AhMow and Detective Morinaka were wonderful at organizing the law enforcement team. The team at Tesoro was very supportive and generous. It really couldn’t have been better!
For all of you who took the time to come out and volunteer, we send a very heart felt Mahalo! Special Olympics West Hawaii is blessed with more than just people who have time to give. We are a truly blessed community working together as a family.
Mahalo, Mahalo, Mahalo.