Island Honda Aids Japan Guests By Donating Phones

By Wendy Osher

Anne Oishi, vice-president and general manager of Island Honda, presents prepaid cell phones and phone cards to Keith Regan, co-founder of The Aloha Initiative.

A Maui company donated 50 prepaid cell phones and phone cards toward The Aloha Initiative Campaign, as the first beneficiaries of the program landed in Hawaii this weekend.

The phones will be used by victims of the Japan earthquake, tsunami and nuclear crisis, who are spending time with host families on Maui and O’ahu, as part of the 90-day respite program.

“Because visitors may be out and about, we felt it was imperative for them to have the comfort and security of immediate communication access to their host families,” said Anne Oishi, vice-president and general manager of Island Honda & Island Auto Center, the company that donated the items.  “Cell phones provide that important access,” she said.

A total of 68 individuals arrived in Hawai’i over the weekend, 45 of whom are paired with host families on Maui.

Monetary donations continue to be sought by the Japanese Cultural Society of Maui for The Aloha Initiative.  All First Hawaiian Bank branches throughout Hawaii continue to serve as collection points until July 15.

For more information about The Aloha Initiative, call 280-1299 on Maui or 292-1262 on Oahu, or visit www.alohainitiative.com.