Big Promise of Little Things Change Comes From Everyone
A Life’s Passion, a Tapestry of Gifts to Future Generations ELLEN HAMADA SCHOLARSHIP FUND FOR FASHION DESIGN & SEWING Ellen Hamada didn’t think
Asato recalls how Hamada
of it as leaving a legacy.
believed it was her duty to
For decades, she
pass on her knowledge,
followed her passion
working with students
and made a living
at her design center
at it, founding the
even when they couldn’t
Fashion Center
afford tuition. “When
of Honolulu and
they couldn’t pay, she’d
teaching generations
say ‘That’s okay. We’ll find
the art of meticulously
a way,’” Asato remembers.
designed and hand-
She found a way then, and
sewn fashion. But when she put her will together, she quietly worked with her financial advisor to leave her life insurance policy to the Hawai‘i Community Foundation to establish a scholarship fund for students pursuing a career in fashion and design. “She worried that sewing
“She was such an inspiration. I want to give back, just like she did.” -KAMALANI PICO Scholarship Recipient
was a dying art,” says her grandniece
continues finding it now and into the future. When Hamada passed away at the age of 91, her plans to keep the art alive were realized with the Ellen Hamada Scholarship Fund for Fashion Design & Sewing. Now, students like Moloka‘i-native Kamalani Pico, are studying fashion and planning clothing lines with their own vision. “She was such an inspiration,”
Kim Asato, and
Pico says. “Now I want to give back, just
she wanted to do
like she did.”
something to keep it alive and share her passion with
future generations. As Hamada got older, her eyesight prevented her from navigating a needle and thread with the same precision she’d wielded in her youth. But that didn’t stop her.
One hard-working woman with a vision is still sharing her art, simply because she had an idea — one little thing — that today delivers big promises to future designers and fashion icons. The big promise of little things, one stitch at a time — that’s the power of philanthropy.
DID YOU KNOW: Great wealth isn’t a requirement of philanthropy — just great dreams. The Hawai‘i Community Foundation serves countless communities across Hawai‘i — from our keiki to our kupuna, our environment to our schools — through the generosity of everyday people just like Ellen Hamada. That’s the big promise of little things. To Leave a Leg acy, V i si t : H awa i i Co m m u n i tyFo u n d at i o n .o rg/ Le ga cy