Acts of Aloha

Realtors® offer hope to island neighborhoods

By Lisa Scontras

Making masks to donate to nursing homes, delivering Happy Meals to health care workers at the local hospital, organizing a neighborhood hui to share needed COVID-19 supplies — ordinary people are coming up with creative acts of aloha. Real estate agents have a long tradition of giving back to the communities in which they serve — volunteering for beach cleanups, delivering food to kupuna with Hawaii Meals on Wheels and building homes with Habitat for Humanity. With the COVID-19 pandemic unfolding on the island, agents are stepping up to ensure those in need have food for their families and roofs over their heads.

Alison Mitchell, a Realtor Associate® with Adams & Company, is one such example — and she volunteers twice a month distributing food at North Shore Food Bank. On the fi rst and third Wednesdays of each month, Alison joins North Shore Service Center, which includes Institute for Human Services, and other volunteers to distribute food bags at Waialua Community Association.

“I thought about why I like to volunteer and how I like learning from the people who I deliver food to,” says Mitchell. “They treat me like family, invite me in to sit down, and we always take time to chat about the world or what’s going on in their lives or the past. They have a lot to offer.

“Yesterday, I was able to deliver to an 84-year-old on her birthday and saw how her family celebrated life with her,” she adds. “It’s just being able to be a part of something that is positive and helps others.”

Last year, North Shore Food Bank distributed 6,446 food bags, and this year, that total will undoubtedly be quite a bit higher.

Real estate agents at The Locations Foundation, the charitable foundation of Hawaii’s leading independent real estate fi rm since 1969, recently made donations to support Hawaii residents affected by COVID-19, including:

• 25,000 surgical masks, a $21,000 value, to be distributed to local hospitals and nonprofi t organizations that work with the public;

• $5,000 to Hawaii Meals on Wheels, which continues to deliver meals to its most vulnerable clients;

• $5,000 to Hawaii Foodbank, which has seen a dramatic increase in demand for food;

• $1,750 to Hawaii Hope to purchase 500 computer mouses to complete full computer packages that are distributed to families and children in need.

“The Locations Foundation is proud to support our island community during these uncertain and unprecedented times,” says Kristin Mukai, Realtor ® and president of Locations Foundation.

And, Honolulu Board of REALTORS® recently granted $60,000 from its Realtors® Care Fund — seeded by contributions from individual Realtors® — to help Oahu families struggling to deal with paying the rent during the pandemic. Three nonprofi t organizations were selected to each receive $20,000 to distribute to families in need for rental assistance — Domestic Violence Action Center, Catholic Charities Hawaii and Hawaiian Community Assets.

“We understand many families are facing fi nancial hardship and worrying if they are going to have a roof over their heads,” says Tricia Nekota, president of Honolulu Board of REALTORS®.

“People are being forced to make diffi cult decisions on whether to pay for groceries or their rent,” adds Robert Van Tassell, CEO and president of Catholic Charities Hawaii. “We know this immediate rental relief will have a huge impact on our local families.”

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