Visitor Aloha Society of Hawaii — VASH Hawaii Island—received a $2,700 grant from Hawaii Tourism Authority and used it to fund getting more than 660 cloth masks sewed and distributed to police officers and nonprofit organizations.
All masks were created with specifications provided by Kaiser Permanente and made by volunteer sewers around the island. The group spent over 550 hours sewing and delivering these masks to the community. Volunteer sewers include Garrett Hennings, Kristina Lilleeng, Patti Millington, Deborah Stern, Dede Sutherland, and Beckie Marshall. The VASH team made and delivered 500 masks to Hawaii County Police, and more than 160 to other non-profit organizations including Full Life-Empowering People with Disabilities, Special Olympics-West Hawaii, and The Children’s Justice Center-Kailua-Kona.
When not sewing masks, VASH helps visitors cope with and recover from a variety of unfortunate situations, i.e. lost documents, crime, medical emergencies or even death of a loved one. VASH receives referrals from the Hawai`i County Police Department, local hospitals, airport security and others. VASH is a 501 (c)3 organization, funded in part by Hawaii Tourism Authority, County of Hawai`i and community donations.
“We are proud to support our community partners during this difficult time,” said Rachelle Hennings, Executive Director for VASH, Hawaii Island. “We feel it’s important to help our first responders as they risk their lives every day to help the visitors and residents of Hawaii Island.”
There’s more about VASH online at VASHBigIsland.org, or contact Ms. Hennings via email at admin@vashbigisland.org
Kona station:
Honoka’a Station:
Waimea station:
Na’alehu station:
Pahoa station:
Hilo station:
