School burglary
has happy ending

Donors restore and add to money
students had saved for charity

An outpouring of community support is helping Hokulani Elementary School students to erase memories of a dispiriting Christmas burglary.

Someone broke into the Manoa school, probably on Christmas Eve or the next morning, and made off with two jars containing about $100 in small change collected by the school's sixth-graders as part of a community service project.

The money was to be donated to the Aloha United Way.

"It was very upsetting for the students. This was money from their allowances, money they had saved and could have spent on themselves but were donating instead," Principal Donna Lum said.

However, media coverage of the break-in sparked a surge in donations from students, parents, businesses and others in the community, pushing total collections from the fourth through sixth grades to about $1,600, maybe more, Lum said.

Though initially traumatic for the students, the theft has had the effect of reinforcing the community service lesson.

"(The students) have been really touched by the unexpected support. They're now seeing the positive effects of their good works and that you can get through any setback," she said.

The school also is entertaining an offer from a security alarm company to install an alarm system for free.

The sixth-grade classrooms were trashed, and a computer and other equipment were stolen. Lum said the school will replace those with its own funds, though it has received offers from other parties and a legislator to foot the bill.

The money jars had been on display in the classrooms so students could watch their collections grow, but since the theft the replenished donations have been kept under lock and key. They will be taken to a local bank today before the money is given to United Way, much to Lum's relief.

"I'll be breathing a lot easier after that," she said.

She might soon have a new stash of money to watch over as part of a school project to support Asian tsunami reconstruction efforts, which could include a fund-raising drive.