During challenging times, local charities can count on the strength of our giving. HOPE Services Hawaii was one of 110 local charity beneficiaries that received a grant in 2020 from Friends of Hawaii Charities with support from long-time charity partner, The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation, which matches funds raised at the Sony Open in Hawaii tournament dollar-for-dollar; and by Title Sponsor Sony Corporation, host venue Waialae Country Club, and State sponsor Hawai‘i Tourism Authority.  Last year Friends of Hawaii Charities distributed $1.2 million in grants to non-profit programs throughout the state which provide food, shelter, safety, and healthcare to the elderly, disabled, and disadvantaged deeply affected by the pandemic and shutdowns.

“The silver lining of COVID-19 has been that it keeps showing us that if we show up and we're ready to work, we'll get through this together. So many people are out of work and depressed, so this has been a challenging time emotionally,” said Brandee Menino, CEO of HOPE. “We were definitely able to utilize the Friends of Hawaii Charities grant funds because the needs we had grew and changed as we took on different ways of delivering shelter that we really hadn't done before.”

“Whether it’s the Sacred Heart Affordable Housing project in Pahoa - providing a social service lifeline to rural Puna and increasing affordable housing for our houseless kūpuna - or collaborating with six non-profits to deliver rental and mortgage assistance to COVID-impacted households, your support allows us to say yes to leadership opportunities to innovate and to try new things. HOPE works towards making homelessness on Hawaii Island rare, brief, and nonrecurring.”

Watch HOPE Services Hawai's video.