KEAHOLE POINT — Cyanotech employees want to make Christmas special for a group of underprivileged keiki this year.
The company rallied their employees for this year’s Toy Drive and Personal Care for impoverished compounds outside of Ocean View in Ka’u.
An array of toys — from dolls and stuffed animals to sports balls, crayons and athletic wear — was piled high outside of the company’s Kailua-Kona headquarters in the Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii Authority (NELHA) on Thursday afternoon.
“It’s a good opportunity for our employees to give back to the community that supports us, a chance to spread the love” says Sherri Chatham, director of quality for Cyanotech, which produces microalgae products for the nutritional supplement and immunological diagnostics markets.
Partnering with the Friends of NELHA, a nonprofit, charitable organization whose goal is to educate the public about NELHA, Cyanotech has placed a collection box at the Gateway Center at the entrance of the ocean science and technology park. The public is invited to support the effort by dropping off new toys and personal care items through Tuesday.
Toys collected will be distributed by Family Support Hawaii to 100 children who would not have received any gifts this holiday season.
“We service children and families in need,” said Family Support Hawaii Executive Director Ray Wofford. “Lots of keiki don’t have a Christmas. This gives kids an opportunity to have something.”
Why is Cyanotech excited about the toy drive?
“It brings joy to the children,” said employee Tiffany Tyler, “after all, Christmas is joy.”