“We believe that the center will help provide the special needs of people with disabilities here on island,” the bank’s senior vice president John Sheather said.
The donation is one of the many grants the bank provides to non-profit organizations.
Sheather said the bank awarded CLI the money because many people with disabilities rely on the services offered by the council.
He is hoping that the community will continuously benefit from CLI’s services.
CLI officers, for their part, expressed their gratitude for the bank.
“I was surprised and happy to know that private companies such as the Bank of Hawaii are starting to notice our non-profit organization,” CLI board member Janice Sablan said.
Lydia Igitol, executive director of the council, said they are “so grateful — we did not expect to receive this amount.”
She said CLI assures the community that it will continuously provide services that aim to enhance the skills of people with disabilities.
“We will continue with our programs to help people with disabilities become better individuals who could live independently,” she said.
Igitol is reminding the community to treat people with special needs “fairly because we too have emotions and we too are not different at all from you.”
