In addition to helping people with their real estate needs, whether they’re looking to find their perfect island getaway or thinking of moving back to the mainland, I love giving back to our community here in Kauai. It’s a beautiful place filled with wondrous nature and people who embody the Aloha Spirit.
One of the ways I work to give back to the community is through my rotary club. Back in 2006, I joined The Rotary Club of Hanalei Bay. Kauai has five rotary clubs, and if you’re not familiar with what a rotary club is, it’s a community service organization. Our motto is “Service above self,” and there are several causes we support.
For example, we have an environmental committee that takes on projects like monthly or weekly highway cleanups. Last year, we collected over two tons of trash along the stretch from the Princeville Center down to Anini Beach. We also work with the Hanalei Initiative to reduce the impact of cesspools along the coastal waters that were created by the 2018 floods. Additionally, we’re involved with creating a session on climate change at the 2020 Rotary International Convention in Honolulu.
“I love giving back to our community here in Kauai.”
We also have a community service section of the club that works with Habitat for Humanity to supply funding and build homes in Anahola. We helped get the Kilauea Community Agricultural Center off the ground, and we’re in the process of designing a new building that will have community gardens that local farmers can use to grow and distribute their food. We’re also raising money to build a building that will house the farmers market and the North Shore Food Pantry. Our Heart of Gold campaign has installed 54 automatic external defibrillators around the island, which can save a person’s life in the event of cardiac arrest.
We also work overseas. We helped rebuild a school in Bolivia, for example, and we’re training surgeons in Romania in a pediatric craniofacial surgery clinic. We’re involved in Rotoplast, which provides free cleft palate surgery, and we’re building a clinic to provide post-surgery services.
There are plenty of nonprofits we also support, including elementary and high school mentoring clubs. Kauai has a high youth suicide rate. Studies show that last year, 9% of all Kauai high school students attempted suicide. Our after-school clubs are part of the action plan of the Kauai Resilience Project, which is to provide safe spaces and one-on-one attention in a mentoring environment.
Junior Achievement is another organization for which I serve on the advisory board. This organization provides financial education for elementary and high school-aged kids. When I think about the work we’re doing, it makes me reflect on my childhood and how I never had this type of education. All these years later, I still don’t see enough widespread quality financial education.
Like I said, I (along with my wife) enjoy serving in these organizations and to giving back to the community. We also go the extra mile for our real estate clients. I’d love to hear about the organizations you’re involved with in your community, so don’t hesitate to give me a call or shoot me an email if you want to talk more about giving back.
As always, if you have any real estate questions, don’t hesitate to reach out to me as well. I wish you and your family a happy holiday season.
