Michael Carr, President & COO, Battleship Missouri Memorial (left) and Dan Parsons, Education Director, Battleship Missouri Memorial (center), accept a $10,000 charitable grant from Wayne Suehiro, Senior VP and Area Manager Pearlridge Branch, First Hawaiian Bank (right), which will be used to subsidize educational programs at the USS Missouri for students from Title I schools. Photo Credit to the USS Missouri Memorial Association.
By Staff Reports
(Pearl Harbor)– The USS Missouri Memorial Association announced today the receipt of a grant for $10,000 from the First Hawaiian Bank Foundation. Grant monies will be used to subsidize educational field trips to the USS Missouri for students from Hawaii’s Title I schools. During the 2012-2013 school year, 227 Hawaii public schools, including 22 charter schools were classified as Title I schools, where a disproportionate number of students live in some form of poverty. Qualifying schools that wish to visit the ship will have their student admissions and transportation supported.
“We are truly grateful to the First Hawaiian Bank Foundation for this generous grant. The Battleship Missouri Memorial is an extraordinary venue for teaching young people and offers an educational experience unlike any other here on the islands,” said Michael Carr, President and COO of the USS Missouri Memorial Association. “Students have the opportunity to learn first-hand the USS Missouri’s important role in history and why those who sailed on her decks in the service of this great nation deserve a place of honor.”
Since opening in 1999, the Battleship Missouri Memorial has hosted over 215,000 youth education visitors, with many schools returning year after year, thanks to the generosity of grants and donors. Educational offerings include hands-on lessons of World War II-era history in addition to programs centered on vital areas of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). Students who participate in these programs learn real-world applications of science, math and technology concepts, all while gaining a greater sense of history.
Battleship Missouri Memorial
The Battleship Missouri Memorial is open daily from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. (8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. from June through August). General admission, which includes choice of an optional tour, is $22 per adult and $11 per child (4-12). Military, kama‘aina (local resident) and school group pricing is available. For information or reservations, call (toll-free) 1-877-644-4896 or visit USSMissouri.org.
The Battleship Missouri Memorial, located a mere ship’s length from the USS Arizona Memorial, completes a historical visitor experience that begins with the “day of infamy” and the sinking of the USS Arizona in Pearl Harbor and ends with Imperial Japan’s surrender aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay.
Following an astounding career that spans five decades and three wars, from World War II to the Korean conflict to the Liberation of Kuwait, the “Mighty Mo” was decommissioned and donated to the USS Missouri Memorial Association, Inc., a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, which operates the battleship as a historic attraction and memorial.
The Association oversees her care and preservation with the support of visitors, memberships, grants and the generosity of donors and volunteers.
First Hawaiian Bank Foundation
The First Hawaiian Bank Foundation is the charitable arm of First Hawaiian Bank. In 2012, the Foundation and Bank contributed over $2.5 million to more than 400 non-profit organizations in Hawaii, Guam and Saipan, making it one of the largest corporate contributors to charity in the markets in which it does business. The Foundation funds educational opportunities, access to health care, services for children and youth, human service needs, and support for culture and the arts.
First Hawaiian Bank (fhb.com), with assets of $16.4 billion, was founded in 1858 and is Hawaii’s oldest and largest bank. The bank operates 57 branches in Hawaii, three in Guam, and two in Saipan.