Maui United Way has stayed vital to our community since 1945 for good reason: we know how to put the right people together with the right resources to make the right things happen. We are
working to address Maui’s most vital needs through the impact areas of Education, Income (sustainability) and Health. Our goal is to bring people, organizations and our community
together around a common cause, a common vision, and a common path forward.
Our Vision
The trusted leader to unite Lanai, Maui, and Molokai in providing opportunities for our community to flourish sustainably.
Our Mission
Our mission is to bridge resources that enrich and empower our County of Maui's Community.
Maui United Way recognizes contact with Europeans in 1778, the Overthrow of the Hawaiian Monarchy in 1893, the loss of Hawaiian language and voice in 1896, statehood in 1959, and the ongoing
trauma experienced by the host peoples—Native Hawaiians—serve as a steady backdrop for the painful inequities that persist in our state . Prior to European contact, aloha served
as the foundation for a sharing economy that emphasized not what you were getting but what you could give to your community. Pre-contact Hawaiians prioritized a reciprocal relationship with
their human and non-human community, recognizing that caring for others was the equivalent of caring for self.
The ongoing occupation of Hawai'i by dehumanizing forces—individualism, bigotry, discrimination, ableism, and bias—makes achieving diversity, equity, and inclusion extremely
difficult. At the same time, there is much hope for Hawai'i as our host culture holds the keys to a just, thriving, and equitable society if only we are brave enough to heal the trauma of
colonization and put aloha at the center of our lives again. With aloha at the center, we can live in communities where race, ethnicity, national origin, gender, gender identity, sexual
orientation, class, disability status, geography, age, and all other identities are embraced as assets that help to create beautiful contributions for the good of our communities.
Our work at Maui United Way puts aloha at the center of our work. In the words of Queen Lili'uokalani, we hone our abilities to “hear what is not said, to see what cannot be seen, and
to know the unknowable” and dig into the work of dismantling of the systems that prevent 'Aina and all people from being their best. This requires bravery, self-sacrifice, and a real
investment in healing trauma from our colonized past and present. We recognize that all Hawai'i residents have been negatively impacted by colonialism, regardless of ethnicity, political
affiliation, education, or socioeconomic status. Lifting one of us lifts all of us.
In order to bring the change we seek, we will deploy work that dismantles systems that hold inequity in place so that:
Trust--not fear--is the foundation of our work, our decisions, and how we allocate resources
We prioritize healing and preventing trauma to be a well-resourced society-wide endeavor
Injustice is acknowledged and everyone works to set things right
Diversity is embraced as an asset
'Aina is healthy and so are we
Resources flow in all directions through a system of interdependence because the gap widens when resources accumulate with a select few
Equity becomes a cornerstone of our culture, even if this takes a long time and makes people uncomfortable in the short term.
To improved understanding of aloha, we turn to the teachings of Aunty Pilahi Paki:
A - Akahai - grace, kindness
L - Lokahi - unbroken, unified
O - Olu'olu - pleasant, gentleness
H - Ha'aha'a - humble, empty
A - Ahonui - patient, waiting for the moment
ALOHA Chant composed by Pilahi Paki
Akahai e na Hawaii Make this offering a habit, all persons of Hawaii:
Lokahi a kulike Obtain
oneness, free of duality,
'Olu'olu ka mana'o Let thoughts be at ease,
Ha'aha'a kou kulana Emptiness is your anchor,
Ahonui a lanakila Be with your breath until complete union.
Aloha mai e na Hawaii Come from ALOHA, all persons of Hawaii
O ke aloha no kau mea nui If you are full of ALOHA, you will do great things,
Eo mai e na Hawaii What say you, all people of Hawaii?
Na pua, na lei, na mamo All children, all beloved, all descendents,
'Ano'ai no me ke aloha Indeed, no one is greater than another, with ALOHA
'Ano'ai no me ke aloha Indeed, no one is greater than another, with ALOHA
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