Toolbox For Education Grants Aid Upgrades For Two Schools

Two Kailua elementary schools are on a high this year because of Lowe’s.

The Lowe’s Charitable and Educational Foundation awarded Enchanted Lake Elementary School $4,970 for the spring semester to upgrade its library, while Aikahi Elementary School won a similar amount last fall to complete a seating project on its playground.

Aikahi Elementary School

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Aikahi Elementary School gets some help from highly trained bench movers from the 3rd Marines and Concrete Creations during a work day May 19 to install seats and benches on the playground. Photos by Kelly Anderson.

Over the summer, new lighting will be installed at the Enchanted Lake campus outside the library for safety and energy savings, and the library’s conference room furniture will be replaced.

Also planned is improved landscaping in front of the building. The Lowe’s grant, along with a school PTA donation, will cover materials, and volunteers will do the rest. The project should be finished in August.

On the Aikahi Elementary campus May 19, about 30 volunteers put the final touches on its eight new concrete benches, along with two pedestal tables (one wheel-chair-accessible) on the school playground.

PTSA vice president Kelly Anderson reported that they also turned the event into the final playground cleanup for the school year.

“The installation would-n’t have been possible without the dedication from 3rd Marine Regiment Gunnery Sgt. Juan Navarro’s leadership and supervision and playground maintenance committee chairman Greg Thielen,” Anderson noted.

“This project materialized thanks to a $5,000 grant Aikahi PTSA applied for and won from Lowe’s Toolbox for Education.”

The Toolbox for Education fund has donated nearly $5 million in grants to public schools from grades K to 12 nationwide since 2006, supported by help and materials from its local hardware stores and employees.