Keiki Lend The Aina Their Kokua

By Natalie McKinney
Wednesday - January 26, 2011 Share

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By Natalie McKinney, Director of Program Development
Kokua Hawaii Foundation

In 2003 musician Jack Johnson and his wife Kim founded Kokua Hawaii Foundation, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that supports environmental education in schools and communities of Hawaii.

The foundation’s mission is to provide students with exciting and interactive encounters that will enhance their appreciation for and understanding of their environment so they will become lifelong stewards of the earth.

Since the first semester of the 2010-11 school year, Kokua Hawaii Foundation has reached thousands through school and community programs like the 3R’s School Recycling Program, a hands-on program that empowers students to engage and educate their school community about the 3R’s - reducing, reusing and recycling - through in-class recycling and schoolwide collections led by student councils and service clubs.

Another example is Kokua Hawaii Foundation’s AINA IS (Actively Integrating Nutrition and Agriculture In Schools) program, which aims to connect children to their land, waters and food in order to grow a healthier future for Hawaii. This is done through the promotion of healthy school lunches featuring locally grown produce, nutrition education in the classroom, garden-based learning, agricultural field trips, waste reduction and management, and community outreach.

Children experience the joys of growing their own food with Kokua Hawaii Foundation’s AINA IS program

Other school programs include Plastic Free Schools, Kokua Earth Action Projects (KEAP), Environmental Education Field Trips and Mini Grant Programs, and the foundation’s work also has expanded with local community events and environmental action campaigns like Plastic Free Hawaii and Simplify the Holidays.

Kokua Hawaii Foundation relies heavily on support from volunteers.

You can support Kokua Hawaii Foundation by becoming a volunteer or member today! Visit kokuahawaiifoundation.org or e-mail .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

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