On Oct. 20, employees from Hawaii Electric Light and other community organizations volunteered their time to help remove 11 old poles from the Boys &Girls Club of the Big Island’s Hilo Club’s baseball fields.
BGCBI installed the poles and equipment to light the fields many years ago. Over time, termite and dry rot damage caused a safety concern for the organization. The cost for removal was estimated at $70,000. As a struggling nonprofit, BGCBI could not afford this.
Mahalo to Hawaii Electric Light employees Tad Araki, Chris Chun-Hoon, Peter Grace, Mike Kameoka, Kerry Kanakaole, Owen Kaneshiro, Garner Kelii, Joshua Lau, Bryan Lum, Dane Souza, Kyle Sugi, Jason Tanaka and Kevin Waltjen who turned out in force to remove the deteriorating poles and equipment to make the fields safe for the keiki.
These volunteers generously gave up their Saturday to keep the area safe for youth activities. They worked non-stop for many hours in often torrential rains, using special equipment to safely remove the poles and prevent the equipment from leaking oil.
Hawaii Electric Light volunteers were supported by other community volunteers, along with BGCBI Board members and staff.
In addition to donating their time, Hawaii Electric Light has contributed $100,000 to BGCBI’s Nutritional Supplementation Program, which provides daily healthy meals or snacks to youth members at all of our Club sites.