Hundreds of Hawaiian Airlines employees today gathered at Honolulu’s Daniel K. Inouye International Airport to present more than $187,000 in combined funds to Aloha United Way, the Polynesian Voyaging Society (PVS), the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum, and the Hawaiian Islands Land Trust. The total includes some $97,000 donated by employees, along with $90,000 matched by Hawaiian.
“The thank you goes to the whole family of Hawaiian, whose care has helped us get to where we need to go and to do our job: voyage,” shared Nainoa Thompson, president of the Polynesian Voyaging Society, during his mahalo remarks. “I don’t take it lightly when we say this is Hawai‘i’s airline. We sail for Hawai‘i, but [Hawaiian Airlines] flies for Hawai‘i.”
Hawaiian’s latest support of PVS comes after recently sponsoring the non-profit’s successful Alahula Kai O Maleka Hikianalia California Voyage, more than 6,000 nautical miles of sailing the North Pacific to California and back aboard the Polynesian voyaging canoe Hikianalia. Hawaiian was also title sponsor of the historic Mālama Honua Worldwide Voyage that concluded in in 2017: a four-year journey around the planet by the voyaging canoe Hōkūle‘a, whose crew sailed over 50,000 nautical miles to 28 countries to spread a message of sustainability.
The selected charities align with Hawaiian’s four giving pillars: education, health and human services, environment and culture, and are recognized stewards in their fields.
“We are very proud of our legacy as Hawaii’s first airline, and I am extremely proud of the generosity and aloha our 7,200-strong employee ‘ohana demonstrates on a regular basis,” said Peter Ingram, Hawaiian Airlines president and CEO.
The 90th year of service fundraiser is in addition to $300,000 in sponsorships and grants Hawaiian provides annually through the company’s Team Kōkua giving program and another $100,000 distributed by the Hawaiian Airlines Foundation. So far this year, the company has provided 4.5 million miles in matching donations to 12 Hawai‘i non-profits participating in the Hawaiian Miles Charities program, while Team Kōkua volunteers have logged more than 8,000 hours helping non-profits throughout Hawaiian’s route network.
“On behalf of the Polynesian Voyaging Society’s crew and staff, I want to congratulate Hawaiian Airlines on 90 years of service and giving. We are proud and honored to partner with a company with such a strong commitment to Hawaii’s culture, place and people,” said Nainoa Thompson. “We are extremely grateful for the support that Hawaiian Airlines has given PVS over the years as a major sponsor of the Mālama Honua Worldwide Voyage and now for selecting PVS as a recipient of the ‘90 Years of Giving’ campaign. Mahalo to all of the Hawaiian Airlines employees for believing in the mission of voyaging and mālama honua.”
Mahalo to Hawaiian Airlines for providing various elements and information for this post. For more, visit their original posts here and here.
Does Hōkūle‘a connect with mathematics and culture? Yes it does. “The future vision of ethnomathematics in Hawai’i and the world is for Hawai’i to be the piko or the center and as we use ethnomathematics as a catalyst for positive change in the communities that we are endeavoring to serve,” –Linda Furuto, University of Hawai’i at Mānoa professor and Hōkūleʻa Education Specialist and Apprentice Navigator.
