Dr. John D. Olkowski
Photo courtesy EyeSight Hawaii
Dr. John D. Olkowski is a corneal surgery specialist and the chief surgeon at EyeSight Hawaii. But even amid his busy schedule, Olkowski somehow has managed to find time to organize a food drive to benefit the Hawaii Foodbank.
EyeSight Hawaii is teaming up with the Foodbank for a food drive Friday, Feb. 24 at the Shops At Dole Cannery from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
“We have done some work with the Foodbank in the past, and since then, we have continued to keep that affiliation,” Olkowski says.
Olkowski, who is originally from New Jersey, moved to the Islands more than 20 years ago and started his private practice, EyeSight Hawaii, 12 years ago.
EyeSight Hawaii previously had officewide collections and has worked to encourage other healthcare facilities to participate in their own collections.
After moving offices to their current Iwilei location, Olkowski became even more motivated to support the Foodbank.
“With the access that we have here right across from Costco and the Dole Cannery center
there are just so many people to draw on to participate with this,” Olkowski says.
In addition to the centrality that EyeSight Hawaii now has, their new office location made Olkowski realize the great need there is for the Foodbank’s services.
“Moving down here to Dole Cannery … (we) have been seeing the homelessness more and more here and other areas throughout town,” Olkowski says. “We see more and more people have difficulties making ends meet with the economy being so poor. The homeless population is growing … and every donation helps.”
Olkowski is also the creator of the Future Physicians Symposium, an annual event that he crestablished seven years ago to introduce high school students to the field of healthcare. The event brings together physicians from various specialties to talk about their careers.
For the food drive, the most wanted items are canned meats, canned meals, canned soups, canned vegetables and canned fruits.
For more information about the Hawaii Foodbank to find more ways to help, visit hawaiifoodbank.org. For more information about the food drive, visit eyesighthawaii.com or call 735-1935.
