A PUBLIC SERVICE MESSAGE
BIG PROMISE OF LITTLE THINGS CHANGE COMES FROM EVERYONE
One Family, Two Sisters, and Endless Possibility
For Kaua‘i’s Miura Sisters, Giving Back is a Family Tradition
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Sara Miura (left) and Joy Miura Koerte at HCF's annual celebration event on Kaua‘i.
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isters Joy Miura Koerte and Sara Miura were raised with philanthropy being an integral part of their lives. Their Kaua‘i family has made giving back a priority, their dad even holding a talk story session during the family’s camping trip one year when the girls were younger. “It is important to give back to the community that’s been so good to us,” said Joy, talking about the four funds their family now has with HCF. Sara started the Rise Up Scholarship Fund for Kaua‘i children of divorced parents, while still in graduate school and working full time. “I waited tables at a Japanese restaurant to save enough money to start the fund,” she says. Sara likes that she’ll be able to see her gifts in action during her lifetime, and that “Even when I’m gone, my giving will continue in perpetuity.”
“I waited tables at a Japanese restaurant to save enough money to start the fund.”
- SARA MIURA
An HCF scholarship recipient herself, Joy knows first-hand the power of a single act of philanthropy. Now with her own public relations company, she makes sure her business and her clients invest in the community they call home. One example is The Deja Vu Surf Hawaii Scholarship Fund that benefits foster children and students who are first in their family to attend college. Both sisters look at their scholarship recipients in awe. “These students have overcome unimaginable struggles to succeed,” Joy says. And she and Sara get to play a small part in their success — that’s the big promise of little things.
Did You Know... HCF administers over 200 scholarships, many similar to those established by the Miura sisters, generating over $55 million in scholarships over the last 15 years.
To set up a scholarship fund, visit HawaiiCommunityFoundation.org/scholarships
SEPTEMBER 2017 · HAWAII BUSINESS 129