Aloha United Way

Poverty and homelessness are an unfortunate reality that Honolulu has to contend with due to our high cost of living. There are many of us full-time working professionals who feel the pinch of living in the 808. Imagine trying to survive here solely dependent on minimum wage or social security, and with children to take care of, on top of trying to pay the monthly rent or mortgage. Statistics have shown that half of Hawaii is unable to make ends meet, and it is commonplace for Hawaiians to work two or three jobs to survive. When I moved to Hawaii I was deeply disturbed by the sight of so many homeless on the streets. Homeless encampments a block from multi-million dollar luxury condos are a common sight in Honolulu. Now that Hawaii is my home for the time being, I searched for ways I could help give back to the community in some way. Two years ago I decided to become a member of AUW's Society of Young Leaders. This group is for young people between the ages of 21 and 39 who give an annual donation of at least $120. Donations to AUW help continue services that support early childhood development, after-school programs, developmental screenings for children, and distributing meals to needy families, the elderly, and the homeless. I chose for some of my donation to be designated to the ALICE Fund that helps individuals and families living paycheck to paycheck. ALICE is an acronym for Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed. According to an ALICE study commissioned by AUW, in Hawaii, there are 165,013 ALICE households (37 percent), while another 47,066 households (11 percent) live below the poverty level. In total, 48 percent of Hawaii households are ALICE and below. I have always considered income inequality to be one of the most important issues of our time that has not been addressed enough by politicians. AUW is at the forefront of addressing income inequality in Hawaii. The AUW office is on N. Vineyard Blvd. near Chinatown. I have been to the AUW office for meetings as well as volunteer events such as the annual school supply drive for homeless children. It's a nice office and hopefully more people will get to see it after making a donation or choosing to help out with future AUW volunteer events.

After spending 20 minutes in the Aloha United Way office, I feel like family! I stopped by to drop off the school supplies donations that our wonderful Yelpers brought to the Yelp Art Attack. It took me a few U-turns to find the office because it's in an unmarked building on the corner of Vineyard and A'ala. (This doesn't mean it's really hard to find...I'm just directionally challenged.) Once I found the building, directions to their office were very clearly marked. As soon as I walked into the office I was greeted by smiles and cheerful people who were eager to help me find who I was looking for. Everyone was just incredible. They're all so helpful and personable! I met Amanda, Brad and Jody from their marketing team. Work must be a blast with these three behind the wheel! They're so great! They even made a trip to my car to help me unload the donations. I stayed and talked and hung out for a while...I didn't want to leave! If you ever get an opportunity to visit our AUW office, consider yourself lucky...it's a blast! (Maybe take me with you???)

I called so many times to talk to anyone from this office and literally we got no response. Terrible customer service. I will definitely look for other organizations to donate next year!