UPDATE: We reached our fundraising goal “For the Love of Luas” thanks to many generous donors in our community and are now able to cover sanitation costs for one year. Click here to learn more.
Help us protect Kīholo and keep our community safe by providing luas while the State cannot. Due to impacts of the COVID-19 global pandemic, Hawai`i state parks has incurred significant losses of revenue and funding sources resulting in an inability to fund portable toilets at Kīholo. Any donation amount helps get us closer to our goal!
For the Love of Luas Fundraiser Progress
Mahalo to everyone that has given so far!
As of June, 19th we are at $11,000 raised ($5,500 in individual donations and $5,500 in matching funds). We still need to raise $9,500 to get the funds matched and reach our goal by June 30th.
Mahalo to generous donors Mike & Alexandra Sammon for the matching donation (up to $15K).
What Happened?
On March 13, State Parks locked gates and luas (portable toilets). Now ocean access is available by foot, but State Parks cannot provide funding for luas. With nowhere for visitors to use the restroom, we are seeing excrement and toilet paper behind trees and in the pahoehoe lava flow. Hui ordered an emergency lua as a stop gap measure, believing luas will reopen with the gates.
Why can't State Parks continue to provide portable toilets?
Hawaii State Parks incurred significant losses of revenue and funding sources due to the closure of visitor-funded parks, due to COVID-19, resulting in an inability to fund luas and dumpsters at some of our parks. Unfortunately, Kīholo is one of those parks. State Parks does not expect to have the funds to pay for waste management at Kīholo until sometime in 2021, thus we think it is only prudent to take over both of the waste management contracts and commit to one year of service. For more from State Parks please click here.
Why is this important?
Hui Aloha Kīholo stands committed to the health and safety of our community and Kīholo. Our Hoa ʻĀina team continues to be on the ground at Kīholo seven days a week. In collaboration with our partners, these Hoa ʻĀina, or “friends of the land” monitor and protect natural and cultural resources and educate visitors to the reserve. We are saddened by increasing reports of human excrement being found at Kīholo, with luas being locked. We fear for the health of the land, the water, and the people of Kīholo. Without a waste management system in place, one of the last untouched natural gems of the Kona coast is at dire risk. Please join us in doing your part so that we can all continue to enjoy Kīholo safely.
What will the $30,000 be used for?
Waste management and sanitation costs for one year at Kīholo are estimated to cost $30,000. State Parks does not expect to have the funds to pay for waste management at Kīholo until sometime in 2021, thus we think it is prudent only to take over these financial responsibilities and commit to one year of service. Here’s what the estimated costs are:
Expenses:
Luas (three portable toilets with weekly maintenance) - $15,000
Trash management (one dumpster and multiple trash cans throughout reserve) - $7,000
Increased sanitation (regular sanitation of lua door handles by hui staff) - $5,000
Sanitation supplies (hand sanitizer in the luas and supplies for hui staff)- $2,500
What is Hui Aloha Kīholo’s relationship to State Parks?
Kīholo State Park Reserve is jointly managed by the Division of State Parks and Hui Aloha Kīholo as part of a curatorship agreement. Under this agreement, Hui acts as a steward of Kīholo by partnering with stakeholders to provide on-the-ground presence, maintenance, camping facilitation, community engagement and education, as well as natural and cultural resources protection. Hui Aloha Kīholo receives no funding from the State of Hawaiʻi for services provided at Kīholo. As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, all of Hui Aloha Kīholo’s funding comes from private donations, fundraising activities, and grants.
Black Lives Matter
We recognize that we are asking for donations at a time where there is an acute national focus on the need for racial equality. The values upon which Hui Aloha Kīholo stand include mālama (respect), aloha (love, and a personal sacrifice for the bigger picture), and kōkua aku, kōkua mai (being on the giving and receiving end of helping). We stand for equality with our brothers and sisters of color. We believe in equity and balance in our relationships - those between kanaka (humans), iʻa (fish), kai (ocean), and the myriad of other beings which make up this awe inspiring world around us.
Our mission focuses on the Kīholo Bay area, but we create change through collaborative management and active community stewardship. We support the Black Lives Matter movement because equality and justice for all are necessary for community stewardship of sacred places and aloha.
Mahalo nui for supporting a sustaining future for Hui Aloha Kīholo. We are powered completely by the generosity of donors like you. Any amount you give goes to protecting Kīholo.
If you have any questions about this project or would like to get involved, please contact us.
Aloha,
