Hawaii Philanthropist Bruce Bucky, president/CEO of Hildgund Jewelry, got a phone call from a man who had been struggling with substance abuse. The man told Bucky what he had been through, and detailed how he was now receiving treatment at Habilitat, a Kaneohe-based drug and alcohol rehabilitation program. The man had been calling to inform others about the program, and Bruce was impressed.
“What I like about it is when people are in Habilitat, they are trained to do different things,” Bruce says. “It keeps them moving forward … and once they are rehabilitated, they can get back into the world with the additional skills they have.”
Mr. Bucky also has been spreading holiday cheer in a myriad of other ways. In the past, Hildgund Jewelry conducted a holiday jewelry scavenger hunt giveaway. In place of that this year, Bucky will be acting as a secret Santa of sorts. He has been working with a local big-box store to pay off toys and clothes that customers have on layaway. The customers will get a call saying that their items have been paid for, but Bruce will remain anonymous.
“You look at some of the layaways, and they have been paying for months and months and months, and the balance is $15,” he says. “It tells you that $15 to you or me is one thing, but $15 to a lot of people is a lot of money.”
Bruce has been doing a range of charitable work for years, starting about 20 years ago when he, his wife and daughter would feed homeless people at a downtown shelters. At the time, he says, he didn’t have much money to give, so they gave of their time instead. Over the years, he also has worked with organizations that include the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation, Hawaiian Humane Society and Children’s Alliance of Hawaii.
But Mr. Bucky remains modest about his many contributions – and is reluctant to even talk about his charitable work.
“It is really all about the idea of giving, not about talking about it,” he says. “But maybe somebody else will get an idea of something they could do.
“The bottom line is – maybe it is kind of selfish – I want to make people happy, but at the same time … it makes me happy,” he says. “At this time of year especially, I am blessed to be able to make a difference.”
See the Article at Midweek
The world is a better place because of Bruce Bucky a Hawaii Philanthropist!