Puna Strong - Puna Rising

What is Puna Strong?

In January 2021, The County of Hawai‘i and Hawai‘i Community Foundation launched Puna Strong to assist with disaster readiness and community resilience, both strategies identified in the Kīlauea Recovery and Resilience Plan, following the 2018 Kīlauea eruption. It is supported by $250,000 from the County’s recovery funds and $130,000 from HCF’s Hawai‘i Island Volcano Recovery Fund, Hawai‘i Island Strong Fund and Anderson-Beck Fund.

Puna Strong has a community-based disaster management approach that values the knowledge and capacities of residents; builds on local resources, including social capital; and aims to increase community resilience. Community resilience is the ability for the community to efficiently use available resources to respond to, withstand, and recover from adverse situations such as the Kīlauea eruption of 2018.

Online Application is Now Closed.

Please contact Diane Chadwick at dchadwick@hcf-hawaii.org or 808-938-8533 with any questions.

Grantee's

Puna Strong

Fern Acres Community Association: A Resilience Hub for Fern Acres

Fern Acres continue to construct a resilience hub for the community that will include a Food Basket site, internet access, and activities for Keiki. Located in Puna, Hawaii, Fern Acres Community Association provides…

Puna Strong

Hawai‘i Animal Kuleana Alliance

Their mission began in 2018, when Kilauea volcano erupted, and Alessandra and a friend rallied together to help rescue animals from the impending lava. They started a Facebook group (the Hawaii Lava Flow Animal Rescue Network)…

Puna Strong

Arts & Sciences Center

Arts & Sciences Center will increase capacity to coordinate a variety of networking and learning opportunities for families and students of Hawai‘i Academy of Arts & Sciences and other surrounding schools, such as…

Puna Rising: Connection through digital platforms

We are dedicated to the recovery and renewal of Puna by connecting our communities through several digital platforms and listening to the needs of the community and improving the content we create. Puna…

Puna Strong

Ahava ‘Āina: Healing Our Community

We will address the long-term mental and emotional effects of Puna residents impacted by the 2018 Kīlauea eruption through a series of talk stories and wellness events led by social workers and faith…

Puna Strong

Food Ingredient and Health Research Institute: Healthy Diets and Education

The Food Ingredient and Health Research Institute is the only federally recognized 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization in the United States (US) devoted entirely to food ingredient safety, education, and research. There has been no organization…

Puna Strong

Boys and Girls Club of Big Island: Creative & Cultural Activities for Ages 6 – 17

BGCBI will offer academic support, critical needs resources, healthy lifestyles, substance and alcohol abuse prevention programming, and nutritional supplementation services to Puna youth. Everyday Hawai’i Island children go unsupervised after school. Many are…

Puna Strong

Kua O Ka Lā New Century Public Charter School

Kua O Ka Lā New Century Public Charter School’s vision is to help students thrive on Ke Ala Pono – the right path. Vision: We believe that every individual has a unique potential and…

Puna Strong

Girls to Women Mentoring Hawai‘i

Girls to Women Mentoring Hawai’i is a 501(3)(c) non-profit organization with a mission to offer meaningful connections and skills for adolescents that build empowerment, resilience, self-esteem, and healthy relationships. We provide this through circles…

Puna Strong

Kūkulu Kumuhana o Puna

Kūkulu is a Hawaiian model of education based on ancestral ecological knowledge. The model is valuable now as it was for generations in Hawaii. In 1991, as a way to create a more…

Puna Strong

Equality HI: Community Resource for LGBTQ+ Awareness and Education!

We host biannual Virtual Resource Fairs targeting LGBTQ+ individuals that are open to all Puna residents providing information and access to employment and financial literacy, housing resources, healthcare, domestic violence, and human trafficking…

Puna Strong

Uncles Kokua Center

Enhancing Uncles Kaimu Farmers Market The Puna Strong Grant from the Hawaii Community Foundation provided funding for infrastructure improvements, mainly to cover the market grounds with beautiful red cinder. With future funding, we…

Puna Strong

Grassroots Church Pāhoa

At Grassroots Church we seek to structure our community not by the fears and agendas of our culture but by the revelation of God in the Scriptures. We believe that church leadership is…

Puna Strong

Big Island Invasive Species Committee: Environmental Care For Our Community

The Big Island Invasive Species Committee will coordinate neighborhood teams within Puna to educate and help treat invasive pests, leading to the development of positive relationships between neighbors and strengthened resilience.