In the collective imagination, the 50th state is an island paradise full of beaches, palm trees and tiny drink umbrellas. The popular perception can be deceiving, however. Hawaii, despite its veneer of luxury, still hides a sect living in poverty. About 10% of the state’s population lives below the poverty line. When accounting for the cost of living and government benefits, using the Supplemental Poverty measure, the poverty rate in Hawaii jumps to almost 15%, according to a 2018 report. Certain counties are especially vulnerable. In Hawaii County, the poverty rate for 18-34-year-old females is 25%, which is higher than the rate in Mississippi, “the worst in the nation,” according to the same report. Sandy beaches and clear water do not mean the poor disappear. As with all ills, there is hope on the horizon. Hawaii is also a state with a unique slate of charities mobilized across its islands, doing good in a myriad of ways. Here are a select few, just five, charities operating in Hawaii

Aloha Harvest

No one likes waste, least of all wasted food. Aloha Harvest is fighting to fix that. Many Hawaiian charities work to end hunger, but Aloha Harvest takes a unique approach. This Hawaiian charity redistributes food from large corporations like caterers, farms and hotels to the people who need it most. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimated that people generated 66 million tons of food waste in 2019 in various places. Meanwhile, Aloha Harvest has distributed almost 1 million ponds of food in 2023.

Hope Services Hawaii

Homelessness is present everywhere in the United States, including Hawaii. Hope Services Hawaii (HSH) offers traditional shelter programs in addition to services like TANF rental housing and case management programs to help people escape homelessness. The charity operates shelters across the state, for demographics like single men, single women and seniors. The slate of shelters is numerous and effective. In the 2020 fiscal year, HSH sheltered more than 700 people, put more than 500 children into housing and helped more than 1,700 people avoid or escape homelessness through all of their programs.

Hale Kipa

Youth are a critical demographic when it comes to escaping a cycle of poverty. Hale Kipa offers multiple services for underserved youth in Hawaii to thrive. Runaway havens, therapeutic foster care and emergency shelters are a few highlights, in addition to community outreach programs. The organization prioritizes youth in crisis (e.g. financial instability) or those in dire need (i.e. the most improvised,) rippling outwards into their families and communities. Even better, all these services are free to those who need them most. Since its founding, the organization has assisted more than 74,000 young people in need.

Waikiki Health

Waikiki Health aims to provide affordable health care for everyone in their island community, by offering health care regardless of ability to pay. Even if a patient cannot pay in full for their treatment, Waikiki Health still provides excellent care, supplementing through community donations, both from individuals and private corporations. It is also conscious of the medical needs and traditions of native tribes and offers native Hawaiian healing rituals at no cost to patients who request them. The organization also offers other health services such as behavioral health and pediatric care.

Hawai’i Food Bank

Food banks across the world are critical to preventing vulnerable people from going hungry. Last on this list of charities operating in Hawai’i is Hawai’i Food Bank. This Feeding America member is best known for its signature Farm to Foodbank program. Beginning during the pandemic, this program donates local produce and traditional food staples to those in need by cooperating with local farms. To date the program has donated more than 7.8 million pounds of local produce, investing more than $10 million in partnership with more than 40 farms and food hubs.

It also offers other programs directed towards children, seniors (a monthly food box and farmer’s market) and a disaster response program. Previous disaster relief efforts involving the organization include the 1992 ‘Iniki eruption, the COVID-19 pandemic and the recent 2023 Maui wildfires. In 2023, Hawai’i Food Bank distributed more than 1.4 million meals worth of food.

Many of the organizations discussed here deal with the most vulnerable, those in need of help to be the best they can be. This slate of charities operating in Hawaii demonstrates people are doing good in every place and time. Even in an area known for its tourism, Hawaii is a hotspot for nonprofits helping people in dire need. Good is a force which is omnipresent and reaches beyond geographic barriers. Always search for people willing to help, in every area and sphere.

– Meredith Wyrick

Meredith is based in Magnolia, TX, USA and focuses on Good News and Global Health for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Flickr