For the team
With ‘Shop And Score’ beginning Wednesday, scholar-athletes from schools that benefitted last year urge MidWeek readers to shop and declare your favorite school at Times Supermarkets.
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Del.icio.usdren who live within a mile of school walk there. While it is not encouraging news to hear that adults are getting thicker by the year, the health problems facing children are even more disturbing since they carry unhealthy habits into their adult years.
According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), over-weight and obese children face a host of health problems. These include type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol and blood pressure that increases the risk of heart disease and sleep apnea that can lead to learning problems. The NIH also said that obese children also have a high incidence of orthopedic problems, liver disease and asthma. Life’s tough enough for teens without having to worry about future health problems.
It’s for reasons like these that Kraft Foods teamed up with Times Supermarkets seven years ago to try to help defray some of the costs for the already over-burdened schools. Shoppers who purchase Kraft and other sponsors’ products at Times can designate a school they wish to support. The schools then get points based on the number of shoppers who designated that particular school. The pay off is a share of $100,000 worth of Adidas athletic gear. The winner pockets $17,000 with each participating school receiving at least $500. For the last two years, Castle High in Kaneohe came away with the top honors. Last year Waipahu High finished second, raking in $10,000, while Aiea, McKinley and Roosevelt all earned $5,000. That’s a nice chunk of change for schools forced to count every penny.
This year, 47 schools are taking part and looking for help in keeping their programs afloat.
McKinley High School athletic director Neal Takamori says his school’s budget is typical at between $120,000 to $130,000 per year. And that doesn’t even include salaries which would add an additional 60 percent to the total.
While the cost of putting a team on the field or court varies greatly depending on the sport, it never comes cheap - especially for the biggest financial drain on the department, football. With a cost of dressing one player averaging $650, even a small school is under the pressure. For an average-sized team like Radford, that means $32,500 just to get suited up. Local schools lead the state in recycling. Taking your jersey home following the season is something that the school simply cannot afford.
“Most of our schools are on a cycle,” says Takamori. “About every four years we enable maybe three of four teams a year to purchase new uniforms because it is almost impossible to get new uniforms all at once.”
And those used uniforms don’t even get a good school washing. It’s usually up to mom and dad to make sure the garments are clean and ready for the next game.
Tad Fujiwara, marketing manager for Times Supermarkets, knows how they feel.
“I played high school athletics myself and I know how it was back in the day when we didn’t have nice uniforms. We had to wear ones that were three, four, five years old,” says the former Roosevelt basketball player. “Now you see the kids and they look good in their new uniforms, and I’m sure it makes them feel good.”
Since the program began, it has donated more than $400,000 worth of equipment to Oahu schools. But they haven’t forgotten those that excel in the classroom. Area students can also benefit from more than $25,000 in academic scholarships courtesy of American Savings Bank.
Seventeen students from participating schools will be awarded $1,500 scholarships to help with their education.
“Our program truly makes a difference,” said Gerald Shintaku, business manager of Kraft Foods Hawaii. “From where we started we did not expect to be where we are today.”
To participate, interested students, coaches and parents can contact the Hawaii Community Foundation at 537-6333. Applications for the scholarships will be accepted starting in February, but for those wanting to change their cabbage into cash, they don’t have to wait so long. The Kraft Shop and Score kicks off Sept. 12, and you have six weeks to help make a difference.
“I think the community believes in its kids and believes in athletics and what it does, and they’re willing to dig in when the need arises to help out,” says Takamori.
With a $341 million backlog in repairs for Hawaii schools, a shortage of books and classes forced outside because of a lack of air conditioning, extra-curricular activities could be left without when the checks are finally, hopefully, mailed.
So go shopping, so the kids can play and score.
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