To mark its 130-year anniversary, Hawaiian Electric has contributed a total of $160,000 in grants to 12 local organizations whose projects are aligned with Hawaiian Electric’s own efforts to increase renewable energy, ensure equitable access, advance STEM initiatives and careers, deepen educational and environmental stewardship programs, strengthen community resilience and provide lifeline resources for the under served.
The organizations receiving funds are:
• Armed Services YMCA of Honolulu – will be able to continue its early childhood programs that address the academic and social-emotional needs of Hawaiʻi’s military families as the state recovers from the effects of the pandemic.
• Big Island Substance Abuse Council – will offer rural wellness hubs that will serve as satellite locations where individuals from areas such as Kaʻu, Hāmākua and Kohala can drop in and receive case management and telehealth services to address substance use and mental health concerns.
• Bishop Museum – is planning to create a place-based keiki garden to introduce young children to solutions that will contribute to a more sustainable future while further expanding the cultural and natural science museum’s research and collections.
• Friends of Honolulu City Lights – will continue the annual holiday celebration – just without a parade – to lift the spirits of the community during these challenging times.
• Hawaiʻi FIRST Robotics – will hold the annual FIRST Lego League State Championship, Hawaiʻi Island District Tournament and Maui District Tournament, key events that inspire students ages 6-18 in the areas of science, technology, engineering and math.
• Hawaiʻi Land Trust – will continue statewide efforts to protect and steward land as well as connect and educate communities through outreach programs.
• Hawaii Literacy – will pilot a digital literacy initiative to equip low-literacy and low-income adults in public housing with foundational computer skills training, internet access and the digital tools and resources that can open new opportunities.
• Honolulu Biennial Foundation – will launch a contemporary arts exhibition at ʻIolani Palace in 2022 that draws upon the legacy of Queen Liliʻuokalani.
• Kupu – will use the funds for a program which aims to advance clean energy public outreach, education and services within rural, vulnerable, low-to-moderate income and ALICE® (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed) communities statewide.
• Mālama Kahālāwai, Inc. – will establish a vegetative firebreak along the Olowalu stream corridor in West Maui to protect the watershed and community resources from wildlfires.
• Teach for America Hawaiʻi – is focused on developing local leaders, increasing support for teachers interested in pursuing school leadership roles and cultivating alumni to engage in systems change through policy, advocacy or within entrepreneurial spaces.
• West Hawaiʻi Mediation Center – will fund its community mediation program that provides mediation and conflict resolution outreach to economically disadvanted residents in West Hawaiʻi, thereby improving their access to legal justice.