AlohaCare Donates to Molokai Organizations

AlohaCare News Release

AlohaCare today announced that it is donating $150,000 to local nonprofit organizations that are helping at-risk families and individuals impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The donation includes monetary contributions to food banks across the state; 28,800 KN95 masks for health care workers at community health centers; and a grant for a new online platform to help identify areas of need in Hawaii.

“The needs in our community are so pressing right now. We want to help non-profits that are directly supporting families and individuals on all Hawaii Islands who are struggling with food insecurity, domestic violence and access to health care,” said Francoise Culley-Trotman, AlohaCare interim CEO.

The KN95 mask donation valued at $82,000 included support of community health care workers at the Molokai Community Health Center. The Centers for Disease Control and U.S. Food and Drug Administration have both approved the use of KN95 masks when N95s are not available.

Additionally, AlohaCare is donating $38,000 to five food collection and distribution organizations that are seeing an overwhelming demand for food: Hawaii Foodbank on Oahu, Hawaii Island Food Basket, Kauai Food Bank and Maui Food Basket, and Sustainable Molokai, which is using grants to purchase local food from island-based hunters, farmers, fishers and producers and distribute them to the most vulnerable residents.

“Neighbor island residents and those living in rural communities are having a particularly hard time and we want to make sure that resources were getting to them,” added Culley-Trotman.

AlohaCare is a local, nonprofit health plan founded in 1994 by Hawaii’s community health centers and is the only local health plan solely dedicated to serving those eligible for Hawaii’s QUEST Integration (Medicaid) and Medicare program. AlohaCare has a long history of providing financial support to community based-organizations that strengthen the safety net for the most vulnerable.

To help victims of domestic violence, AlohaCare is donating $10,000 to the Domestic Violence Access Center to support a 24/7-texting service for victims to use during the state’s work-from-home/stay-at-home mandate.

AlohaCare is also providing a $10,000 grant to support Switchboard, a new online platform envisioned to identify and aggregate community needs for organizations and donors statewide. The Hawaii Alliance of Nonprofit Organizations, Hawaii Investment Ready and Next Gen Donor Hui are spearheading the initiative.