Sunday, Denny’s Restaurant in Kona is sponsoring Project Compassion from 4:30 to 9 p.m. During that time, 20% of the proceeds of the restaurant, plus all the tips usually going to servers, will go to Kona Alano Club. The Kona Alano Club, on Pawai Place in Kona’s Old Industrial Area, is a venue for holding 12-step meetings. The Alano Club is in the community to provide a safe, welcoming space for those people in recovery from drug abuse alcohol abuse, and any other addictions. They currently host around 25 meetings a week, with people from around the community–and from off island who are visiting–attending. Director Vince Mott says around 80 people a day attend meetings at the Alano Club.
Mott says the goal of the Kona Alano Club in providing the meeting space is to help keep impaired drivers off the road and ensure that those in recovery have a place to meet. Dr. Kevin Kunz, M. D., an addiction specialist who practices in Kona, says statistics are clear that those who go to any kind of rehab are far more likely to be successful in staying off drugs or alcohol if they regularly go to some kind of support meeting.
The owners and servers at Denny’s, which is just makai of the Kona Safeway on Henry Street above Queen Ka’ahumanu Highway, partner with Rotary of Kona to present Project Compassion on a regular basis.
