Maui United Way along with Hawaii Land Trust (HILT) and Hui No Ke Ola Pono hosted a “Healing the Healers” event on April 7, 2022 at Waihe'e Costal Dunes and Wetlands Refuge to thank Maui, Molokai and Lanai based nonprofit and health center staff for all they do for our community.  During the last two years, nonprofit staff have expressed feeling burnt out. Healing the Healers strived to restore purpose through an event that healed using traditional Hawaiian practices in a safe outdoor environment. 

The event started with attendees working on the 'aina with HILT and learned more about the Waihe'e Coastal Dunes and Wetlands Refuge and moved on to 5 cultural and health stations and a delicious Hawaiian meal from Hui No Ke Ola Pono.  The event had a little less than 100 attendees and many expressed how much they needed a day to step away from the work and connect with the land and heal.

 One of the participants shared, "It helped me by allowing me to pause the normal day-to-day hub bub of my work. I was able to keep my mind off of work and focus on self care, which is not a common luxury that I get to have.

“It was an honor to host an event that supports our community's healers. We want to extend a huge mahalo to Hawaii Community Foundation for sponsoring this event and to Hui No Ke Ola Pono for providing the healing stations. We look forward to doing more of these events in the future.” said Nicholas Winfrey, President and CPO of Maui United Way.  

Nonprofits fill the gap in community services that government and the private sector don’t provide. Through the COVID pandemic, nonprofits have had limited resources, with growing demand and needs for their work. Nonprofit and health center staff report feeling exhausted because of the constant need to make adjustments in programs and services due to COVID fluctuations, in addition to their already taxing jobs. Across the board, nonprofits and health centers report concerns about the emotional health and wellbeing of staff, and uncertainty of the future.  This event hoped to address these concerns.