Contribute and Support the Natatorium

The Friends of the Natatorium welcome all kinds of supporters: military veterans, ocean sports athletes, preservationists, kama’aina, visitors to Hawai’i and anyone who favors stabilization, preservation and eventual renewal and reopening of the Waikiki War Memorial Natatorium. There are lots of ways to help out! Here are a few:

  • Talk to your friends about why the Natatorium is important and encourage them to learn more here on our site and at the Historic Hawai’i Foundation site.
  • Print out and share this fact sheetwith your friends. -You can write letters to the editor of the Honolulu Star-Advertiser.
  • Stay informed, by subscribing to the Natatorium blog [see right-hand column on this page] or Friending and following us on Facebook or Twitter
  • Write to the mayor and members of the City Council. Tell them that you favor stabilizing the Natatorium and preserving it for eventual full renewal and reopening. Let’s swim!
  • Volunteer to help out at our annual Memorial Day observance (at the Natatorium at 10 a.m. on the Sunday before Memorial Day)
  • Tell us your ideas for how to get people interested in and involved in the fight to save the Natatorium

MAHALO!!

Donate Directly to the Friends of the Natatorium

Yes!  I’d like to join the Friends of the Natatorium

by making a 100% Tax Deductible Contribution to support their work.

Contribute online at the “Support Friends of the Natatorium” PayPal link in the right-hand column, or print this page, fill in and mail back to us. Thanks!  

Enclosed is my check in the amount of __________________

Payable to: Friends of the Natatorium

Mail to: Friends of the Natatorium
c/o Jim Anderson – Treasurer
PO Box 25715
Honolulu, HI 96825

 

My Name is _______________________________________

 

My Mailing Address ________________________________

 

_________________________________________________________________

(so we can send your IRS receipt)

My Email Address is:  ____________________________________________

(for news and updates only.  We do NOT spam nor share your address with anyone!)

 

Please circle yes or no

Yes/No — For my gift of $25 or more, I would like to receive a copy of The Tank documentary on DVD

Yes/No — I would like to volunteer to help the Friends, please contact me

 

Any thoughts or comments you’d like to share?

Comments

  1. Michael P Golden

    Please help me to understand what the future holds. I don’t want to donate money to a project which has little chance of success. If you had another 10 million would the restoration be completed? Why is there such opposition? What can be done to overcome it other than writing to officials? My uncle, William P Golden Jr retired from SF State, moved to Hawaii and taught at the university of Hawaii. He and his brother Paul T Golden MD loved to swim off the coast of Oahu especially as they aged and could excercise no other way. They learned to swim off Ocean Beach in San Francisco before the signs went up. Powerful and graceful, seemingly effortless.

    This project needs to be finished.

    • Dennis O'Shea

      Michael, thank you so much for your note and your support! A major capital campaign will commence once the City and State indicate their interest in creating a partnership to reopen the War Memorial Natatorium. Based on reactions to the EIS process so far, we believe we’re making progress towards a decision to preserve and reopen the memorial. In the meantime, your donation to the all-volunteer Friends of the Natatorium supports public awareness efforts and events that are vital to restoration efforts. Mahalo!!

  2. Tim Carvelli

    So at this point you are working on permits and authorization for the restoration to go forward?

    If we donate funds now they will go to the volunteers to keep up the efforts, not to the project.

    A year ago you were still working on permits for the restoration to get under way.

    This permitting needs to get done ASAP so those donating money will know it goes to the project. Once it’s permitted there should be a robust effort for donations. Then a bar graph is needed to show how much money has been donated, including interest accumulated.

    I see opportunity for a number of civic organizations to raise funds for this worthy project. Some are BSA, retired military, friends of history, Hawaii natives, Waikiki tourists etc etc etc…

    Light a fire under the permitting agencies and let’s get this thing DONE!

    Thanks for your time,

    Good luck and God’s speed.

    Mahalo

    • doshea55

      Thanks, Tim, for your thoughtful questions and comments. Here are the answers:

      1. At this point, the city’s consultants are still working on getting a draft Environmental Impact Statement written and out for public comment. So getting the design advanced to a “permit set” and going after permitting and other authorizations are still down the road a bit. Soon, we hope!

      2. Any funds donated on an unrestricted basis to the Friends of the Natatorium are used for operations, which includes all our very important advocacy work with politicians and the public. (We have no paid staff, only volunteers, so no dollars go to salary.) Donors who wish to make gifts intended exclusively for a future capital campaign to pay for the actual restoration can restrict their gifts for that purpose. The gifts will be set aside.

      3. No one (including us) has pursued permits for Natatorium rebuilding since the city halted the original restoration effort of the mid and late 1990s. As we said above, the issue is currently at draft EIS stage. But we hope it advances quickly!

      4. We agree!

      5. So do we! And the centennial commemoration of World War I is doing a lot to call wider public attention to the Natatorium. The hope is that the Natatorium will be the site of ceremonies marking the 100th anniversary of the Armistice in November 2018. Exciting!

      6. Mahalo for your support and enthusiasm!