CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARBULLETIN.COM
Ed Hiraki sorts school supplies at the Ready to Learn warehouse in Kalihi, where he is in charge of delegating work lines and receiving donations.
Retiree keeps
supplies flowingStudents and Ready to Learn
volunteers look up to Uncle Ed
You can always find Ed Hiraki in one of two places: on the golf course or at the Ready to Learn warehouse in Kalihi.
Golfing and volunteering are his passions, and he tries to spend equal time doing both.
But he's finding less time for golfing as the Ready to Learn program kicks into high gear.
The program collects, packs and distributes basic school supplies to 27,000 needy elementary and high school students across the state. It is co-chaired by U.S. Sen. Dan Inouye and his wife, Maggie.
Hiraki runs the operations at the warehouse at the Helping Hands facility in Kalihi, where supplies are collected and packed into individual kits. He receives all donations and is in charge of delegating the work lines.
Hiraki retired from Hawaiian Electric Co. in 1997 and "needed something to keep busy," he said.
He now puts the golf clubs aside in the morning to open the warehouse at 7:30 and works until 4:30, Monday through Saturday.
He sees his new work as a "good thing" and knows how good it must feel to start school with new things. It makes students want to go to school, he said.
"We didn't even wear shoes to school when I went," Hiraki said. "Now, have you seen the school supply list? It's a page of stuff."
Surrounded by towering pallets of school supplies and lists of needy students, Hiraki makes sure everyone is taken care of, even his volunteers.
"He cooks or buys lunch for everyone," said volunteer Andrew Ganeko, who was busy enjoying a bowl of Hiraki's hamburger stew. "He's always looking out for everyone, catering to what they like or need."
And for a small group of volunteers, he isn't just Ed, he's Uncle Ed.
"He's like a mentor for some of the kids," said volunteer Pete Ortiz. "One girl even asked him to come watch her graduate." The kids come when they can and love to help him, he said.
"He's just got a huge heart," Ortiz said.
When asked about his "uncle" status, Hiraki just smiles and points to a handful of pictures on the wall above his desk.
"As long as I don't have to baby-sit them and can put them to work, I like kids," Hiraki said, laughing.
Most students who will receive a Ready to Learn school supply kit will not know how much time Hiraki spent on their bag of new pencils, notebooks and rulers.
But for Hiraki, "it's just what I like to do."
And just in case work finishes early, he has his golf clubs and golfing shoes waiting at the warehouse.
