Hawaiian Electric Grants $160,000 for Community Resilience & Sustainability

To mark its 130-year anniversary, Hawaiian Electric contributed $160,000 in grants to 12 local organizations working to build a strong, sustainable and resilient Hawaiʻi.

The organization’s projects align with Hawaiian Electric’s 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 underserved.

The nonprofits that received grants:

• Armed Services YMCA of Honolulu: Continue its early childhood programs addressing 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 for individuals from areas such as Kaʻu, Hāmākua and Kohala to walk in and receive case management and telehealth services for substance use and mental health concerns.

• Bishop Museum: For planning to create a place-based keiki garden to introduce young children to solutions that contribute to a more sustainable future while further expanding the cultural and natural science museum’s research and collections.

• Friends of Honolulu City Lights: Continue the annual holiday celebration – although without a parade for public health reasons – 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, which inspire students ages 6-18 in the areas of science, technology, engineering and math.

• Hawaiʻi Land Trust: Continue statewide efforts to protect and steward land as well as connect and educate communities through outreach programs.

• Hawaiʻi 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 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: For a program 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: Will establish a vegetative firebreak along the Olowalu stream corridor in West Maui to protect the watershed and community resources from wildfires.

• Teach for America Hawaiʻi: 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: For community mediation program that provides mediation and conflict resolution outreach to economically disadvantaged residents in West Hawaiʻi, improving their access to legal justice.

Hawaiian Electric serves 95 percent of Hawaiʻi’s 1.4 million residents on the islands of Oʻahu, Maui, Hawaiʻi, Lānaʻi and Molokaʻi. Established on Oct. 13, 1891, Hawaiian Electric is committed to empowering its customers and communities by providing affordable, reliable, clean and sustainable energy.