This year has already seen several weather disasters impact Hawaiʻi, from the severe flooding during the Kona Low storms in March to the storm damage during Hurricane Lala.
Disasters like that are why the Hawaiʻi Community Foundation launched Stronger Hawaiʻi, a campaign to coordinate recovery efforts across the Hawaiian Islands and to make every donation towards recovery efforts as impactful as possible.
To learn more, HPR spoke with Hawaiʻi Community Foundation CEO Terry George and Maui Recovery Effort Vice President Keanu Lau Hee.
“We have created these funds for each island, and those are important,” George explained.
“But we didn't have a fund or a strategy when a disaster hits more than one island. So that's what the Stronger Hawaiʻi Fund is. It's a statewide fund that allows us to support all phases of a disaster: before, in the immediate aftermath, a couple of months, and a couple of years later.”
In the past, HCF has helped communities across the islands recover after disasters like the 2023 Lahaina wildfires.
“I think the foundation has been really critical in the aftermath of a disaster by helping mobilize nonprofits to support community,” Hee told HPR.
“So, with this latest storm, Lala, on the Big Island, we deployed funds to HOPE Services to support those folks there on the Big Island … sheltering folks, and helping to provide that much-needed support and care,” Hee added.
More information about the Hawaiʻi Community Foundation’s Stronger Hawaiʻi Fund, including a link to donate, can be found here.
This story aired on The Conversation on Sep. 1, 2026. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m. Jinwook Lee adapted this story for the web.
