The Thomas J. Long Foundation has awarded Hawaii Theatre Center $20,000 to support its Hawaii Young Actors' Ensemble, a high school performing arts program; the Theatre for Young Audiences program; school residencies, which take performing arts programs to schools; and the Technical Theatre Apprenticeship program.

Also, a $50,000 grant from the Mary D. and Walter F. Frear Eleemosynary Trust supports the salary of the center's education director; and a $2,500 grant from the Ifuku Foundation helped pay a teaching artist for four elementary schools residencies.

  From October to December, the Hawaii Pacific Federal Credit Union collected more than 100 presents of merchandise and gift cards for the 2008 Lokahi Giving Project. The FCU accepted donations at its main branch in the Ala Moana Building and at its Pearlridge and Ala Moana branches. It has been participating in the Lokahi Giving Project annually since 2002.

  The Samuel N. and Mary Castle Foundation awarded $10,000 to the Contemporary Museum's free Transformation and Transportation school program, which provides funding for buses, visits by art educators in the classrooms, gallery tours and art activities for Oahu's K-5 public school students. The funds are intended to offset severe budget cuts facing public schools that will diminish the amount of art education offered.

  The Waikiki Health Center recently received a $20,000 grant from the WalMart Foundation.