ALOHA MAKENA

The quality of our relationship with our Island
ecosystem supports the quality of our lives

"The subjective relationships that dominate the Polynesian psyche are with all nature, in its totality, and all its parts." (Pukui & Handy, 1998)

Aloha Makena is about intentional reciprocation with community so we can belong to this precious place together. We focus our efforts on remembering and amplifying the relationship of humans as younger siblings to our island ecosystem kin.

We engage the community through a variety of avenues to address the following critical areas:

Primary Needs

Health care, food security, and affordable housing

Social Determinants of Health

Land & cultural resource conservation & stewardship, protection of native flora & fauna, and education

Proximity

We focus on those closest to us and support those whose efforts impact community in Makena first, then Honuaʻula, South Maui, and finally greater Maui nui.

Stronger Together

Over the last decade, more than $550,000 has directly supported the Maui community!

Monetary donations are critical for nonprofits to continue to provide vital services to our precious Maui community. These funds support the continuance of essential programs, covering operational costs, and sustaining the organizations’ missions.

Aloha House

Friends of Auwahi

Forest Restoration

Book Trust

Council Native Hawaiian Advancement

Grants Central Station

Grow Some Good

Halau Na Lei Kaumaka O Uka

Hale Kuamoo-UH Hilo

Hawaiian Canoe Club

Hawaii Community Foundation

Share Your Mana

UH Foundation

Women Helping Women

Hawaii Land Trust

Hawaii Nature Center

Hawaii Wildlife Fund

Hui O Wa'a Kaulua

Imua Family Services

Ka Hale a ke Ola Homeless Resource Centers

Kaho'olawe Rehabilitation Trust Fund

Keawalai Congregational Church

Keauhou o Honuaula

Kihei Youth Center

Uhiwai o Haleakala

Tri-Isle RC&D Council, Inc.

Loiloa

Paia Elementary School

Protect Kahoolawe Fund

Maui Arts & Cultural Center

Maui Behavioral Health Resources

The Maui Food Bank

Na Koa Manu Conservation

Maui Health Foundation

Maui High Band Booster Club

Maui Humane Society

Maui Nui Botanical Gardens Inc

Maui Rescue Mission

Na Hoa O MNSRP

Maui United Way

Na Hale O Maui

Na Leo Pulama O Maui

Na Leo Kako'o O Maui

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COMMUNITY EVENTS

Events that are good for the place and good for Maui

We believe in hosting community events that nurture both the spirit of this place and our community collaborators. Throughout the year, Mākena hosts fundraiser events and other programs to benefit community partners providing essential services to our island.

This includes hosting annual golf tournaments and benefit dinners for organizations focused on affordable housing, natural and cultural resource stewardship, health care, our neighbors, and the Maui Interscholastic League championship.

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Past Events

ALOHA MAKENA FOUNDATION

Amplifying Aloha in Makena, Investing in Collective Well-Being

Aloha Mākena is our 501 (c)(3) organization. At its very core, our purpose is to support the continuum of aloha, of reciprocation, in Makena. The foundation helps ensure continued support of community events in place, as well as continued investment in Makena's next generation through training programs like Kīpaipai and the Aloha Makena Endowed Scholarship for University of Hawaiʻi students (learn more here).

Join us in taking action towards a mutually beneficial system, towards homeostasis, towards deep love of place, towards more aloha in Makena!

Support

HOLO 'AI

25,000 lbs of Food Donated

Holo ʻAi is a community foodsharing program that supports our food-insecure areas in community. Started by Maui Nui Venison in response to the instability of the COVID-19 outbreak and further reinforced following the devastating Maui wild fires in August of 2023, Holo ʻAi has donated nearly 150,000 lbs (and counting) of nutrient dense venison to community. As of May 2024, Mākena has contributed over 25,000 lbs of food to the Holo ʻAi program.

Learn More

KĪPAIPAI

Community Archaeology Program

In a unique partnership with ʻĀina Archaeology, led by Makena Native Tanya Lee-Greig, our Aloha Mākena and ʻŌiwi Resources & Stewardship teams have been working together to empower trained care of our precious archaeological and cultural resources.

Beginning right here in Makena, within Honuaʻula moku, Kīpaipai empowers and supports descendants with lineal and genealogical ties to this place to tell its stories and to care for preserved archaeological sites from Palauea to ʻĀhihi and from ʻUlupalakua to Kahoʻolawe.

Learn More

Our Instagram

Reciprocity through shared belonging.

Aloha, the sacredness of reciprocity, is the guiding principle of Mākena's Community Engagement program. It's all about our love for Makena's natural cycles -becoming familiar with them, learning how to be in deeper relationship with them, until one day, you become a younger sibling in the Honuaʻula web of life. This is the continuum of aloha in Makena, learning to live in reciprocity with Makena's ecosystem towards mutual well-being and vitality, towards island consciousness and kinship.