LIHU\u2018E \u2014 To kick off the new school year, the Chan Zuckerberg Kaua\u2018i Community Fund of the Hawai\u2018i Community Foundation (HCF) has committed more than $330,000 in unrestricted funds to support Kaua\u2018i\u2019s 16 public schools, seven public charter schools and Kumu\u2019s Cupboard, a nonprofit that provides free supplies to teachers and other educational support staff year-round through its store in Lihu\u2018e. <\/p>\n
\u201cUnrestricted or flexible grants empower our school leaders to direct resources exactly where they are needed most,\u201d said Leila Maeda-Kobayashi, Hawai\u2018i Department of Education Kaua\u2018i Complex Area superintendent. \u201cThis generous donation from the Chan Zuckerberg Kaua\u2018i Community Fund ensures we can provide a more equitable and supportive learning environment for every student, while also helping Kaua\u2018i teachers access the supplies they need to help our keiki thrive.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Chan Zuckerberg Kaua\u2018i Community Fund founders Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg also joined local donors in sponsoring Kukui Grove\u2019s Back to School Bash \u2014 Kaua\u2018i\u2018s largest free school supplies giveaway for students in grades K-12, which provided more than 3,000 backpacks filled with required classroom supplies this year.<\/p>\n
\u201cCreating a safe, inclusive classroom environment isn\u2019t only about providing school supplies,\u201d said Marissa Sandblom, HCF program director. \u201cEvery student learns differently and deserves the opportunity to succeed. By addressing resource disparities and financial pressures facing students, families and educators, we can help remove barriers and cultivate the necessary conditions for meaningful engagement in learning. Through the generosity of donors like Priscilla and Mark, we are helping build a stronger, more resilient education system for Hawai\u2018i.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Chan Zuckerberg Kaua\u2018i Community Fund was established in 2019 by Chan and Zuckerberg. Their giving is driven and informed by ongoing conversations with local residents, leaders, and service providers.<\/p>\n
Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg\u2019s family giving is grounded in the places they call home and care deeply about. In 2010, they signed the Giving Pledge, a promise to give away the majority of their wealth to charitable causes. Since 2016, they have committed more than $100 million to more than 100 Hawai\u2018i nonprofit organizations. <\/p>\n
The Chan Zuckerberg Kaua\u02bbi Community Fund of the Hawai\u02bbi Community Foundation is guided by ongoing dialogue with Kaua\u2018i residents, community leaders, and service providers and supports affordable housing, workforce development, food security, education and youth, health and mental health, conservation, Native Hawaiian causes, and emergency relief.<\/p>\n
The vision of the Hawai\u2018i Community Foundation is to create an equitable and vibrant Hawai\u2018i in which all our island communities thrive. With our 110-year history, our trusted expertise, and the generous support of donors, we are working to address the root causes of our state\u2019s most difficult challenges, including expanding access to affordable housing, conserving freshwater resources, and ensuring the healthy development of Hawai\u02bbi\u2019s young children. <\/p>\n
We focus our efforts through the CHANGE Framework, which identifies six essential sectors affecting the overall well-being of these islands and their people. HCF works in communities across Hawai\u02bbi, with offices and staff located statewide. In 2025, HCF stewarded more than 1,175 funds, established by individuals, businesses, and organizations committed to building a better Hawai\u02bbi. <\/p>\n
Through these funds, along with contracts and private foundations, we\u2019ve distributed over $116 million in grants statewide so far this year, including scholarships assisting more than 1,400 Hawai\u02bbi students.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"LIHU\u2018E \u2014 To kick off the new school year, the Chan Zuckerberg Kaua\u2018i Community Fund of the Hawai\u2018i…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":82523,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[154],"tags":[1411,618],"class_list":["post-178682","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mark-zuckerberg","tag-local","tag-mark-zuckerberg"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@people\/117042457182569796","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/178682","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=178682"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/178682\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/82523"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=178682"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=178682"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=178682"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}