SPECIAL PROMOTIONAL SECTION
COMING T OGE T HER, SI X F EE T A PA R T
T
he shared kuleana that many of us have for the people and places of Hawai‘i is what makes our islands unique. With the arrival of COVID-19 to our shores community members quickly stepped into action, from providing groceries to kūpuna, to donating personal protective gear for health care workers. A new reality hit and people across the Aloha State stepped forward with solutions to support those who needed help the most. In response to the pandemic, the Hawai‘i Community Foundation (HCF) and Pierre and Pam Omidyar established the Hawai‘i Resilience Fund at HCF to help mitigate COVID-19’s impact on Hawai‘i. The Omidyar ‘Ohana Fund and HCF each contributed $1 million to launch the effort. The Stupski Foundation gave an additional $500,000. Within a couple of weeks funds grew to more than $4 million. The fi rst round of grants were rapidly deployed to slow the spread of the disease and to help those who are most vulnerable, which included increasing testing and establishing a quarantine facility for Hawai‘i’s homeless and supporting food banks across the state. “During times of crisis, philanthropy has a critical role in identifying where support is needed and catalyzing action on the ground,” said Micah Kāne, CEO and President of HCF. “One thing is certain. Hawai‘i becomes more resilient every time we work together to overcome our most difficult circumstances.” Two years ago when Kaua‘i experienced unprecedented floods, government, nonprofits, businesses, everyday citizens and the team at HCF worked together to ensure that essential workers had childcare, food banks were stocked, and those who needed pro bono legal aid had access. “COVID-19 has the potential to have long-term economic impacts for our state—and frankly across every region on the globe,” Kāne said, noting that before the crisis hit, almost half of Hawai‘i residents were already living paycheck to paycheck. “What we are seeing now is an exacerbation of those hardships.” When a person is in danger, they generally respond with one of three natural instincts: fight, flight, or freeze. In Hawai‘i, another instinct kicks in. We assess what’s needed, we get creative, and we work together to recover. Even if it requires that we keep six feet apart.
Support efforts to rapidly address the local effects of coronavirus at HawaiiCommunityFoundation.org/coronavirus
Thousands of ‘ulu from the Hawai‘i ‘Ulu Producers Cooperative were distributed to local Hawai‘i Island families during the outbreak.
The Hawai‘i Resilience Fund at Hawai‘i Community Foundation has a four-phase approach to community resilience through the CHANGE Framework, which has a specifi c focus on our most vulnerable island residents.
“One thing is certain. Hawai‘i becomes more resilient every time we work together to overcome our most difficult circumstances.” - M I C A H K Ā N E , C E O & P R E S I D E N T, H AWA I ‘ I C O M M U N I T Y F O U N D AT I O N