Pacific Buddhist Academy Kicks Off Capital Campaign

Pacific Buddhist Academy is at an exciting juncture as we announce our planned expansion.  Our goal is to raise $5.5million to allow the School to expand its enrollment from 64 students to120. As the School has grown and graduated more students, so has our positive reputation. However, in our current facilities, our ability to enroll more students is limited. Some applicants have been turned away due to lack of adequate classroom space.  

We are now embarking on an exciting period of growth with the anticipated construction of new facilities in 2012. These facilities will enable the School to operate a cost-effective educational program that will sustain itself for years to come. To date, we have raised over $2.8million in leadership gifts from individuals, foundations and corporations. We now invite our entire family to be part of this milestone in the history of the School.

COMING SOON!  READ about naming opportunities.

First Hawaiian Bank Awards PBA $50,000 Grant for New Classroom Building
Pacific Buddhist Academy has received a $50,000 grant from the First Hawaiian Bank Foundation, the charitable arm of First Hawaiian Bank.  Foundation personnel Jodi Mukaigawa and Benjamin Akana presented Pacific Buddhist Academy Board Chair Joel Determan and Capital Campaign Committee Co-chairs Dr. Margaret Oda and Dr. Fujio Matsuda with a $50,000 check. The funds will support the construction of Pacific Buddhist Academy’s new classroom building. 

“This lead gift from the First Hawaiian Bank Foundation is one of the very first to our capital improvement project. It will allow us to significantly increase the physical space of our classrooms and enables us to double the number of students we can serve,” stated PBA Head of School Pieper Toyama. “All at the Pacific Buddhist Academy are very grateful!”

Sharon Brown, President, First Hawaiian Bank Foundation, said the foundation is “pleased to support Pacific Buddhist Academy’s efforts to expand their campus so more students may benefit from the school’s rich tradition of cultivating compassionate leaders and peaceful individuals.”

THANK YOU, First Hawaiian Bank Foundation!

Island Insurance Foundation Supports PBA’s Capital Campaign with a $50,000 Donation
Mr. Tyler Tokioka, Vice President of External Affairs at Island Insurance Foundation, the charitable arm of Island Insurance, presented a check for $50,000 to PBA Board Chair Joel Determan and Trustee Cindy Alm.  This gift will be used to support construction of Pacific Buddhist Academy’s new classroom facilities.

“We are pleased to support the Pacific Buddhist Academy and the positive values they instill in their students. As a local company we are always looking for opportunities to give back to the community. We see this as an investment in the high school students. It is our hope that they will remember the positive values they have learned at the Pacific Buddhist Academy, and as adults that they will share and give back to the community at large,” said Mr. Tokioka.

Thank you, Island Insurance Foundation!!

Hawaii Community Foundation Gives PBA $40,000 to Boost Development Efforts
At the end of 2010 the Hawaii Community Foundation awarded Pacific Buddhist Academy a $40,000 grant to support the school’s development efforts.  PBA is using the grant to launch a planned giving program for prospective donors and to create a video to share PBA's unique story. 

In late April, a team of four videographers spent two days on the PBA campuses.  The video crew filmed the students doing research in Mānoa Stream and studying on the University of Hawaii Mānoa campus.  They filmed chemistry and social studies classes, a staged cross country meet, basketball game and tennis match, and electives including watercolor, kendo, and urban gardening.  They also interviewed students, faculty and staff.  In all, the video team caught approximately 15 hours of film footage.  They are currently in the process of using the footage to develop an 8-minute video about PBA.