CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARBULLETIN.COM
Lina Agbayani is an outstanding volunteer at the Foodbank, where she is the archivist and proofreader.
Retiree, 70, stays
busy helping others
Editor's note: This is the first in a weekly series highlighting those who help our community be a better place.
Lina Agbayani may be retired, but she is by no means retired from working.
She is busy volunteering for the Hawaii Foodbank, Friends of Liliha Public Library, and the Filipino American Historical Society.
"Although I'm officially retired, in my life I'm not retired from life," Agbayani said. "My parents brought us up to share with the community."
Her volunteer work is "very important" to her, Agbayani said. "It's interesting and I feel useful. I would be bored to tears if I didn't do it."
When she first retired as an administrative secretary and was looking for something to do, her sister, Amy Agbayani, recommended the Foodbank because she was a close friend of its co-founder, John White.
A volunteer for the Foodbank since 1994, the 70-year-old Agbayani is the archivist, proofreader and flower supplier for the office. She works at the Foodbank two days a week and helps out at special fund-raising events.
Polly Kauahi, director of the Foodbank's fund development, nominated Agbayani for the Mayor's Senior Recognition Program for volunteering more than 6,000 hours since 1994.
Kauahi described Agbayani as "loyal, dependable, passionate, knowledgeable, resourceful and ... a tremendous asset."
Agbayani is "our walking thesaurus and dictionary," said Dick Grimm, Foodbank president. "I don't know what we'd do without her."
Every business letter, press release or newsletter, "anything that's important," has to pass her inspection before it leaves the office, Grimm said.
Agbayani said her mother taught English and insisted her daughters learn "good English, so I didn't pick up grammatical errors."
The daughter of a Filipino diplomat, Agbayani has a master's degree in history from the University of Sydney, Australia. She has traveled the world and moved to Hawaii in 1972 to be close to her two sisters.
Agbayani also is president of the Friends of Liliha Public Library. She helps with fund raising and clips out articles related to the library, among other tasks.
Agbayani also meets with members of the Filipino American Historical Society once a month to help develop plans for the 2006 centennial celebration of the arrival of immigrants from the Philippines.
In her spare time, Agbayani is an organic gardener, growing vegetables, herbs and flowers. She maintains a plot at the community garden at Foster Botanical Garden, where she also had volunteered on the board of directors.
If you know someone who helps out in your community, we'd like to know. Write us at Volunteers, Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, 500 Ala Moana, Honolulu 96813.
