Jewelers for Children comes to Hawaii
Local affiliate Hawaii Jewelers Association brings new support to Make-A-Wish Hawaii, sends Wish Kid on dream trip to England
HONOLULU, HAWAI’I (March 13, 2015) – The Hawaii Jewelers Association(HJA) has partnered with Make-A-Wish Hawaii after selecting the local nonprofit as their charity of choice, involving the association’s statewide members with the Make-A-Wish mission.
The HJA, under the new leadership of co-executive directors Sophia Makaimoku-Young and Bernard Nunies, is an affiliate of Jewelers for Children, an international organization dedicated to uniting charitable giving efforts of the jewelry industry to children in need. Make-A-Wish has benefitted from this organization on a national and international level, but now the effort has moved in locally to further support wish kids in Hawaii.
“We are excited to renew our relationship with Make-A-Wish Hawaii in support of our industry-focused charity, Jewelers for Children. Aside from financial contributions, it is our goal to have a more active role in our community through unique efforts in supporting local Wish children,” Nunies said.
On Friday, the HJA launched this local partnership by hosting a celebratory send-off for Honolulu Wish Kid Gabrielle, 16, battling cancer. HJA Member Hawaii Estate & Jewelry Buyers presented
Gabrielle with a donated pair of platinum earrings featuring .50ct diamonds from The Diamond
Guy, sending her off in style before her Saturday departure to England – a long-awaited wish trip
after plans to travel sooner were postponed from a collapsed lung requiring surgery.
Gabrielle’s wish to England is being sponsored by Jewelers for Children, which has granted
Make-A-Wish Hawaii funding to help cover the costs of the trip. Gabby was born in England, but
moved to Hawaii when she was young; her one true wish is to see where she was born. While in
London, she is looking forward to sightseeing and touring The London Eye, London Bridge, Tower
of London, Big Ben, and the London Dungeons.
“We rely on innovative partnerships to not only raise needed funds for local wishes that we grant
like Gabby’s, but also to make each wish - whether for a local child or a visiting child - something
truly magical to treasure forever,” said Make-A-Wish Hawaii President and CEO Siana Austin
Hunt. “We are so grateful that local jewelers in Hawaii have aligned with us to add this special
touch of aloha to our wish experiences.”
In addition to Gabby’s wish, HJA member Opal Fields has offered to host two upcoming in-store
jewelry experiences for Kayla and McKenzie, who are coming on their wishes to see Hawaii from
Tennessee.
“We look forward to supporting Make-A-Wish Hawaii as our charity of choice along with the
thousands of people that are impacted by these wish experiences each year,” Makaimoku-
Young added.
About Make-A-Wish® Hawaii
Make-A-Wish® Hawaii grants the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions to enrich the
human experience with hope, strength and joy. Founded in 1982, Make-A-Wish Hawaii has granted close to
1,000 wishes to Hawaii children, through the generous support of our community and more than 400
volunteers. Annually, there are more than 100 local keiki who are newly diagnosed with a life-threatening
medical condition who qualify for a once in a lifetime wish. Make-A-Wish Hawaii is dedicated to a vision of
offering a life-affirming wish experience to each and every one of these local children.
In addition to fundraising and granting wishes to our local keiki, Make-A-Wish® Hawaii hosts around 1,000
children annually from across the country and around the globe whose one true wish is to visit our beautiful
shores.
IG: MakeAWishHawaii | Twitter: @HawaiiWish |Facebook: Make-A-Wish Hawaii
About Jewelers for Children
Jewelers for Children was founded in 1999 by the U.S. jewelry industry with the mission of helping children in
need. Since its inception, JFC has donated more than $45 million to programs benefiting children whose
lives have been affected by illness, abuse, or neglect through our charity partners St. Jude Children's
Research Hospital®, the Make-A-Wish® America, the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, and the
National CASA Association. JFC also provides support to the Make-A-Wish® International and the Santa-
America Fund. This nationwide success is due to the continuing generosity of jewelry trade organizations,
jewelry and watch manufacturing companies, jewelry retail stores, individual jewelry professionals, and
jewelry consumers.
The support from the jewelry industry has allowed for more than 1,425 children to be granted wishes in the
U.S. and more than 12,000 to have their wish granted in India. More than 8,500 children in foster care have
been helped with the support from the jewelry industry and more than 120,000 women have received
support at clinics in developing countries. Our support has also provided for a bone marrow transplant unit, a chair in Genes and Genetic therapy and a stem cell transplant laboratory, all providing for hundreds of children to be treated for deadly cancers.
IG: HawaiiJewelers| Facebook: Hawaii Jewelers Association
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