Children of Ka Punahou

In Hawaiian, kahiau means “to give generously from the heart with no expectations in return.” It is fitting that members of the Class of 1973 founded the Kahiau Endowed Financial Aid Fund in honor of their 50th Reunion this year. This new financial aid fund supports students at Punahou who represent the values of diversity, inclusion and community. Nearly 200 members of the Class of 1973 contributed to various funds at Punahou for a united 50th Class Gift, which helped propel overall Reunion giving among 15 classes to more than $9.5 million in gifts, pledges and planned gifts in 2023.

Weili Cheng ’73 shared that “co-chairing our 50th Reunion Gift Committee with Dara Jamieson ’73 was a wonderful experience. I loved working together and connecting with so many of our classmates. Despite time and change, the friendships and aloha remain.” Jamieson added: “It was the perfect combination of reuniting with classmates, enjoying fun times at the Reunion activities, and knowing that the money donated by our class will help both present and future Punahou students experience the education that benefited all of us.”

The Class of 1963 set a new record, contributing more than $4 million – the largest Class Gift on record. Not to be outdone, the class of 1948 set three records of their own: the first class to organize a 75th Reunion, the highest 75th Reunion Class Gift; and at 38%, the highest giving participation for a 75th Reunion ever!

Finally, the Class of 1998 impressed all by setting a new record for class giving participation in honor of their 25th Reunion this year. They achieved 66% class participation with 295 classmates making a gift! Yolanda Lau served on the Gift team for the ’98 Reunion Committee, and she noted that this tremendous success “was a cohesive effort by our “communal” class (“communal” being the single adjective former Academy Principal Win Healy bestowed on our class at our Commencement). And it only happened because of the overwhelming support from our classmates. It goes to show that while we all had different experiences at Punahou, Punahou alumni can always count on each other.”