From sign waving and cheerleaders at the flagship University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa campus to a ping pong tournament at Community College and a pop-up market at the ʻImiloa Astronomy Center in Hilo, students, alumni, faculty and staff showed up on UH Giving Day to generate a record breaking $1.3 million from more than 1,580 gifts. With final totals still being reconciled, the results reflect a strong show of donor engagement across the UH’s 10-campus system.
A graduate of the Waiʻaleʻale Project at Kauaʻi CC, Isaiah Wilson dropped by the Giving Day table with a donation to the program that he described as helping him immensely throughout his 11 years pursuing his degree.
“It’s such a powerful program,” he said. “Now I’m giving back so others can have a chance of what I was given.”
‘Outpouring of aloha’
UH Giving Day funds will help support various scholarships, urgent flooding relief from the Kona-low storms, student success resources, faculty and research initiatives, and priority needs across all UH campuses.
“The outpouring of aloha we witnessed during UH Giving Day is truly humbling,” said Tim Dolan, UH Foundation CEO and VP of Advancement. “Every single gift is a powerful investment in our students, our research and the future of Hawaiʻi. We are deeply grateful to our entire UH ʻohana for coming together to make such a profound and immediate impact across all 10 campuses.”
Read more UH Giving Day stories
University leadership emphasized how this statewide generosity will shape the institution’s future.
“Philanthropy plays a vital role in expanding opportunity and ensuring access to higher education across our state,” said UH President Wendy Hensel. “The generosity shown on Giving Day helps empower students across all 10 campuses and strengthens the university’s ability to serve Hawaiʻi now and in the years ahead.”
‘Feels like ʻohana’
Rachel Radona, a senior and UH Mānoa cheerleader added, “In Hawaiʻi we’re all about community, lāhui (the Hawaiian people), and about ʻohana (family) at the end of the day. We’re trying to embody what Hawaiʻi means to us, and it does feel like an ʻohana. It feels like when people are giving to us—that’s our family.”
Gifts made during UH Giving Day also count toward the historic For UH • For Hawaiʻi campaign, the comprehensive $1 billion fundraising initiative supporting all 10 campuses of the UH system.
