It is the time of giving | News, sports, jobs


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“It would be almost impossible to remember a year in our lifetimes that is more difficult than 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic has affected everyone – if not through infection with the virus itself, then certainly with family, financial, professional and emotional effects. There was political division, race riots, natural disasters. “

That was the first paragraph of my column in this room exactly a year ago. To underline the obvious, 2021 presented new and ongoing challenges. Words and phrases that we had never used or heard before became commonplace – boosters, long distance drivers, supply chain disruptions, variant and most recently Omicron. It’s no wonder a lot of us were a little “picky.” But the way to beat that “picky” And to see the New Year with hope means to acknowledge how far we have come – largely because of the readily available and very effective vaccines, of course – and to do what we have always done: to come together as a community to overcome the challenges and go Ahead.

For the second year in a row, the UH system participated in the national Giving Tuesday initiative. The support was record breaking. More than 1,200 donors donated more than $ 245,000 to the UH Foundation, more than three times the total of last year. UH-MC is the grateful recipient of some of these generous donations.

We know you will be inundated with inquiries. We humbly ask you to consider supporting UH-MC programs and our students as part of your year-end donations. This year we are focusing on three specific areas – Hulihia, Puko’a hina’ole (our water quality testing laboratory) and our human resource development programs.

Hulihia: A Maui Sustainability Systems Center is a partnership between UH-MC and the Maui, Moloka’i and Lana’i Community Strategies Team at Kamehameha Schools, which was launched last May. Our vision is a complete change for Maui County – to have clean energy and transportation, food security, clean and adequate water for the future, protected ecosystems, waste reduction, sustainable tourism, green jobs and a green economy by 2040. We need broad community support and input to be successful. Please visit hulihiamaui.com and click “Join in” click sites.google.com/ksbe.edu/hulihia/get-involved?authuser=0 to join us.

UH-MC is fortunate to have Andrea Kealoha as the oceanography instructor and director of Puko’a hina’ole, our water quality testing laboratory. Born and raised in Pa’ia, Andrea grew up in and around the ocean and cares deeply about the health of this precious resource. The lab makes monitoring more accessible to permit holders dumping litter into the ocean, farmers monitoring their agricultural waters, and conservation groups, all of whom previously had to send samples to O’ahu for analysis. Andrea and her laboratory assistant Arik Dadez are also participating in important research at the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument. We encourage you to visit maui.hawaii.edu/waterlab/ to learn more.

Our office for advanced learning and human resource development is another important community asset. Led by Karen Hanada, the program addresses Maui County’s education needs, community job placement requirements, international engagement opportunities, diversified opportunities for agriculture and food business owners, and continues to provide broader access to higher education through the university center. Our new Maui Food Innovation Center, which is about to open, will be a shining centerpiece. The renovation of the 4,000-square-foot, fully-equipped food manufacturing and packaging facility, which will be County, FDA, and USDA-compliant, will be fully funded by the State of Hawaii. This $ 7 million investment recognizes the economic value that the Maui Food Innovation Center brings to Hawaii’s new and established food businesses, students, farmers, ranchers, chefs, and restaurateurs. It is a unique first in-state incubator that helps build a stronger, economically diverse, and sustainable Maui by supporting the value-adding food industry.

My column in this room ended exactly a year ago.

“It would be almost impossible to imagine a year in our lives with more positive anticipation than 2021. The horizon looks brighter – effective vaccines are currently being administered on our campus as well as many other locations in our state. The outlook for the new year is hopeful. We at UH-Maui College are infinitely grateful for your support and wish you and your families a happy, happy and, above all, a healthy new year. “

We look forward to the new year with positive anticipation and hope. While the pandemic continues, we’re proud of both our campus’ efforts to vaccinate so many residents in 2021 and the fact that more than 95 percent of our students, faculty, administrators, and staff are fully vaccinated. We are undoubtedly infinitely grateful for your support. And of course we wish you and your families a healthy, happy and, above all, healthy New Year.

Every donation, no matter how big, advances our campus and our community. To contribute to any of the UH-MC funds supported by the UH Foundation, please visit give.uhfoundation.org/. For more information about the UH Foundation and the many other ways it can help, please visit uhfoundation.org/ or contact our UH Foundation Development Director, Jocelyn Romero Demirbag, at [email protected].

* Dr. Lui K. Hokoana is Chancellor of Maui College at the University of Hawaii. Ka’ana Mana’o, which means “Share thoughts”, appears every fourth Saturday of the month. It is being produced with the assistance of UH-Maui College staff and is designed to provide the Maui County community with information about the opportunities the college offers on its Kahului campus and education centers.

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