$120K Castle Foundation Grant To Support Waimanalo Hui

Hui Malama O Ke Kai has received a $120,000 grant from Harold K.L. Castle Foundation to help Windward students pursue higher education.

The nonprofit hui provides Waimanalo youths in grades 5-12 and their families with afterschool programs and family-oriented workshops, both of which promote Hawaiian culture and values. Participants learn about everything from Hawaiian history to leadership skills and poi pounding.

The Castle grant will enable the agency to establish an internship program, with the goal of sending participants to college. Extra funds will go to an environmental assessment of the nonprofit’s 11-acre Waimanalo property (formerly the Waimanalo Teen Project site), to see what other activities might be conducted on the premises.

The foundation also awarded $400,000 to The Nature Conservancy, $55,000 to Hawaii Seafood Council, $80,000 to Tri-Isle Resource Conservation & Development Council Inc., and $1.3 million to Hawaii

P20, a coalition devoted to boosting Hawaii college enrollment and success rates.

The grant specifically funds a public awareness campaign about P20’s mission and a stronger framework for its Early College Initiative, a dual-credit education program where high school students earn concurrent college credits.