Hawaiian Electric donations support West Oahu community
A total of $36,000 awarded to six nonprofit organizations
Release Date: 7/2/2021
HONOLULU, July 2, 2021 – Hawaiian Electric has donated a total of $36,000 to six nonprofit organizations working to improve the lives of youth, kupuna and/or underserved populations in West Oahu, several that serve as critical lifelines in a community hard hit by the pandemic.
- The Nanakuli Boys & Girls Club will use the funds for its 2021 Great Futures Campaign, ensuring the continuation and expansion of youth programs and resources to address distance learning loss due to the pandemic. These include providing additional club hours and staffing; wi-fi and technology; tutoring and innovative programs to keep youth active, healthy and engaged; as well as providing meals to club members and the community.
- The Hawaii Lodging and Tourism Association awarded a scholarship to Shanny Gisa, a Nanakuli High and Intermediate School senior, as part of its Citizen-Scholar Awards Program, which Hawaiian Electric has sponsored since 2005. Gisa, who served as senior class vice president and earned “Student of the Year” awards in photography, plans to pursue an associate degree in general business.
- Hiohia, a Native Hawaiian nonprofit dedicated to bringing new life to authentic, historic and nearly forgotten regional moolelo (stories), will use the donation to share its cultural resources with Leeward area schools, including, Ka Waihona o ka Naauao, Kamaile Academy, Leihoku Elementary, Maili Elementary, Makaha Elementary, Nanaikapono Elementary, Nanakuli Elementary and Waianae Elementary.
- U.S.VETS – Waianae, the nonprofit that primarily serves non-veteran vulnerable households in West Oahu, will use the funds for a program aimed at preventing homelessness. The Supportive Services for Homeless/At-Risk Families is designed to rapidly re-house homeless families or offer financial assistance to at-risk families so they can maintain their permanent housing while providing guidance and resources that will support them in the long-term.
- Valley of Rainbows, the Waianae-based nonprofit supporting individuals so they can realize their full potential, will launch the Kupuna Disaster Preparedness Project to provide emergency supplies for up to 250 seniors – many on fixed incomes and mobility challenged – living on the Waianae Coast. The project will work with high school student volunteers to identify the seniors, prepare the disaster kits and deliver to five senior low-income housing projects in Waianae.
- The Waianae Coast Community Foundation, which has been coordinating monthly food distributions for community members in need at Kapolei and Ewa Beach since May 2020, will apply the donation to add a third site at the University of Hawaii-West Oahu campus. The funds will go toward monthly operations for the third location and help purchase personal protective equipment, supplies, refreshments and other items to support the volunteers who are the backbone of the food distribution effort. The UH-West Oahu food distribution site will begin operations in July 2021.
Photos courtesy of Waianae Coast Community Foundation
