HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0099.010 2020-2022 I
COUNTY OF HAWAI'I NON-PROFIT GRANT
April 29, 2021
County of Hawai'i i
Committee on Human Services and Social Services M
25 Aupuni Street 6
Hilo, Hawaii 96720
I
Dear Council Members:
Thank you for allowing me to provide testimony to support the Japanese Cultural Center
of Kona's (JCCK) request for your Non-Profit Grant regarding funding for our Land Ac-
quisition Due Diligence Work. Besides serving as Vice Chairperson for JCCK, I also
serve on other community-based boards, including the Kona Japanese Civic Associa-
tion, Kona Hiroshima Kenjin Kai, Kona Hongwanji Buddhist Temple Kyodan and the l
Kona Coffee Cultural Festival.
Besides the hotels, West Hawaii does not have any large venues that can accommo-
date large concerts, international conventions and other large-scale events. Our cul-
tural center will provide not only West Hawaii, but the entire State of Hawaii with such a
venue.
Unlike many of the other areas in Hawai'i that started out as sugar cane plantation
towns, Kona's history is unique in that our Kona Coffee and many Japanese farmers
created the Kona we know today. We need to preserve this very important history of
Hawai'i and we intend to do this with our mission of serving as an "international, world-
class gathering place to preserve and share the Japanese culture and unique lifestyle in
Kona".
In order for us to accomplish this we need to start somewhere and acquiring an ideal
parcel for this project is one of our next steps in the process. We will need to hire pro-
fessionals to accomplish this goal and your Non-Profit Grant will help us. Covid has lim-
ited our ability to do fundraising, so outside help is welcomed at this time so we can
keep our momentum going.
Thank you for your work and consideration in helping us reach our goal of building an
international, world-class gathering place.
Sincerely,
CZC(,�Ch"w
Claudia S. Chang
Kealakekua, Hawaii 96750
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