The Honolulu Shrine Club (originally chartered as the Aiea Shrine Club), formed of Oahu Nobles, received its charter on August 1, 1964 and immediately set out on a program of meeting a most critical need at the Honolulu Hospital, that of blood for their surgery schedule.
Having learned that, on occasion, surgery has been postponed at the Hospital pending receipt of a supply of blood, the new Aiea Club inaugurated a heavy schedule of fundraising to acquire cash with which to purchase blood and to create a blood reserve to be held in the name of the Hospital.
By 1966 Noble Istuku Murakami reported that over $3000 had been raised for the purchase of blood and, during that year, over 250 pints had been secured and the Hospital reserve went up.
In addition, the Aiea Club was donating $10 per month to cover the increased cost of Saturday morning movies at the Hospital.
By 1967 the Club has instituted another interesting program, that of offering honorary Life Memberships in their Club for a $5.00 fee. This fee entitled the purchaser to wear one fo the Club’s ‘surfer’ pins, attesting to that membership.
So successful had this promotion been that within two years the Hospital’s blood bank reserve account reached 341 pints, a truly remarkable performance.
Through the 70’s the blood procurement program continued and, by 1974, the reserve was over 400 pints.
As of 2018, the Aiea Shrine Club has changed its name to the Honolulu Shrine Club, to better reflect the club’s membership and the capital city in which it meets. Honolulu Shrine Club meetings often include a prominent speaker of the Hawaii community and include a no-host dinner, which help raise funds for the benefit of Shriners Hospitals for Children—Honolulu.
