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Events

HNL SOUP Hosts a ‘Solutions Showcase’ for Local Businesses

HNL SOUP is a micro-granting dinner that supports local ideas, projects, organizations, and businesses via crowdfunding of community dollars. In mid-September, HNL SOUP and Impact Hub HNL hosted the HNL SOUP ‘Solutions Showcase’ to feature the progress of three previous HNL SOUP winners.

HNL Soup Solutions Showcase participants and Impact Hub HNL team.

What is HNL Soup?

HNL SOUP is a program brought to Honolulu by Samantha Ruiz, who was inspired after learning about the SOUP model in Detroit, Michigan. HNL SOUP is a part of a global network of community crowdfunding events. She says, “We hope that HNL SOUP changes the way people engage with the democratic process and increases our community’s creativity and collaboration.”

Samantha Ruiz, the founder of HNL Soup

 

The premise is simple: each attendee donates $15 for a bowl of soup and bread from local chefs. The group then listens to the three project pitch about their organization and the work they do in the community. After listening to all three pitches, the audience votes on the winner: the project that receives the majority of votes wins the community chest.

HNL Soup Solutions Showcase

At the ‘Solutions Showcase’, community members learned how three former projects – HNL Tool Library, WerkArts, and WorkNet – utilized their community micro-grants to get their business off the ground, and how they could benefit from ongoing community support.

During the ‘Solutions Showcase’, HNL heard how community funds were instrumental for getting HNL Tool Library off the ground, and how the support from the community (both moral support and physical donations) inspired founder Elia Bruno.

WerkArts shared a similar story: learning that the community loved their bamboo bike idea helped them feel like they were on the right path with their company. Founders Krystle Marcellus and Barret Werk hope to get some of the parts fabricated outside of the U.S. to double their output over the next year. HNL also heard from Ruby Menon and Chas Williams of WorkNet, a non-profit that helps former inmates reintegrate into society with jobs, skills building, and housing.

The winner of the ‘Solutions Showcase’ was HNL Tool Library, which seeks to expand membership, build their inventory of available tools, continue to offer workshops, and expand into a self-sustaining non-profit.

We’ll be hosting another HNL SOUP in the future, so stay tuned for updates about when the next micro-granting dinner will be!

Event follow-up: Get Engaged! Social Justice Volunteerism Night

On Tuesday, 8/21, we hosted our first Get Engaged! community event. The purpose was to build community awareness around local social justice issues and increase volunteerism for six participating organizations.

Despite the threat of Hurricane Lane, over 60 people gathered together over pupu to hear about these organizations’ accomplishments, learn how to get involved, and network with others passionate or curious about social justice.

 

After the quick presentations, guests participated in a World Cafe designed by the participating organizations to brainstorm the motivators people have to stay in a movement, get engaged in a movement, and take action for a movement. After three rounds of questions, that got gradually deeper, guests were invited to stay and harvest the rounds from each table.

These posters are the result of the harvest from the World Cafe. They started with the question: What makes you stay in a movement? The rounds progressed to reasons for staying or leaving in times they have been engaged or disengaged, and finally addressed actions that could be taken to engage larger audiences in social justice work in a way that inspires action, solutions, and accountability.

 

 

 

 

The evening also inspired the Impact Hub team to do even more events to engage the community in local issues. Subscribe to our newsletter at the bottom of our website to learn about future Get Engaged! topics and events or to partner with us.

Why I Teach: Civil Beat’s Speaker Series Featuring our Community Manager, Anne Weber

***Update: This event has been rescheduled to Friday, 9/28 due to Hurricane Lane. Tickets for this event will be valid for the new date.

It’s back to school time for many of us, and to celebrate this time of year, Civil Beat is hosting another Hawaii Storyteller event called Why I Teach.

This event features a group of local teacher leaders telling stories of how they became educators. We’re extra excited about this event because our very own Community Manager Anne Weber will be one of the storytellers!

Anne Weber Impact HubMost of you know Anne as the person that keeps Impact Hub HNL running smoothly on a daily basis, but she is also a writer and educator. Anne was a state teacher fellow and she serves on the Advisory Council for the Native Alliance Initiative for Teach for America nationally. Prior to joining Impact Hub HNL, Anne taught elementary school in Waianae at Ma’ili Elementary for four years.

About her calling to teach, Anne says “the work was more rewarding than I could have ever imagined. Teaching indigenous students is close to my heart because I never had native teachers growing up. Students that have teachers they can relate to and see themselves in makes a significant difference in their learning. The rest of the story you’ll just have to come next Friday and hear for yourself.”

Anne Weber Hawaii storytellers

This Hawaii Storyteller’s event, part of a larger series produced by Civil Beat, will feature a group of local teachers offering up a diverse range of storytelling experiences, with each storyteller sharing personal challenges, triumphs, and insights as to what makes teaching in Hawaii so unique.

The featured storytellers for this Moth Radio Hour-style show includes the following storytellers:

  • Hokulani Holt, Kumu Hula of Pau O Hiiaka and Director of Ka Hikina O Ka La and Coordinator of
  • Hawaii Papa O Ke Ao at the University of Hawaii Maui College
  • Douglas Kiang, Computer science teacher at Punahou School
  • Keil Oberlander, English Language Arts teacher at Waianae High School
  • Mahina Paishon-Duarte, Principal of Kanu o ka Aina New Century Public Charter School
  • Christina Torres, English teacher at Punahou School
  • Anne Weber, Community Manager at Impact Hub Honolulu and former teacher at Maili Elementary School

This event will be held at Arts at Marks Garage in Chinatown. Arrive at 6:00 p.m. to enjoy interactive activities and a no-host bar. The event will start promptly at 7:00 p.m. Register here for this event (registration is $10).

Healthy Living Cooking Classes at Impact Hub HNL with Down to Earth!

If you are interested in learning more about natural foods and healthy eating, Sisi and Maddie from DTE are hosting 2 more classes over the coming months (August 28 and September 25, both at 6pm). This free class gives the community an opportunity to explore simple vegetarian recipes that can be enjoyed as weeknight meals or shared at office potlucks. And there are always yummy samples!

The August 28 class will feature Rainbow Veggie Pinwheels, which are made by wrapping pretty rainbow salad in tortilla smothered with beautiful hot pink beet hummus! Upcoming classes are FREE but do require reservations. Please register in advance here.

Our Kakaako neighborhood is full of awesome places to eat, drink, and be merry. A few months ago we were happy to see that Hawaii-based company Down to Earth opened their largest Oahu store just a few blocks from us.

Down to Earth operates four stores on Oahu and one on Maui, offering a huge selection of organic and natural foods, local produce, and fresh deli offerings. The Kakaako location offers made-to-order sushi, pizza, sandwiches and more, great for a quick bite to eat before, during, or after work.

You can reach the DTE team for questions or to learn more: (808) 947-3249.

Zero-Waste Living Tips for a Plastic Free July

Impact Hub HNL is committed to making impact and building community. Each of the 102 Impact Hubs worldwide is committed to turning the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into reality. Plastic Free July addresses Goals 6 and 14 and we are proud to do our part in limiting use of single use plastics in our space, programs, and events.

Luckily, Hawaii is – in many ways – at the forefront of sustainable action. Not only did our plastic bag ban just go into effect in July, Hawaii has been one of the leaders in trying to ban styrofoam (polystyrene) and plastic straws for years. While it’s awesome to see so much action on the city and state level, it’s really important to understand the important role individuals have to play when it comes to reducing our consumption of single-use plastics.

This month is Plastic Free July and there is no time like the present to start taking action towards living a more plastic-free life, and our Hub team wants to help you reduce your impact this month (and every month!).

Here are some favorite tips from the Hub team about how to reduce plastic waste at work and at home:

  • Skip bottled water: Use a water filter (reverse osmosis, fridge filter, or even a Brita) to improve the taste and health of your tap water. At Impact Hub HNL we have filtered water on the fridge. Not only does bottled water have low ratings when it comes to safety and taste, Americans throw away about 38 billion plastic water bottles each year (that’s after accounting for recycling!).
  • BYO Cup & Mug: When you go to your favorite coffee shop, bring your own to-go mug. Not only does this keep your coffee warmer longer, it ensures that you’re not wasting the cup, the sleeve, and the lid for each cup you buy. At Impact Hub HNL, we have a huge collection of mugs and cups to use, so whether you’re drinking our free organic coffee & tea or getting it from the neighborhood cafes, we encourage you to use the mugs we have on the shelves. We also have kombucha and nitro cold-brew coffee on tap so you can sip sustainably all day long.
  • Skip the Straws: Unfortunately the straw ban just got kicked out of committee at the Hawaii Legislature, but the expanding ‘Straws Suck’ movement is gaining traction. Straws are unnecessary and often become waste littering our awesome beaches, so as much as possible, ask for NO straws at your next pau hana or lunch date. Remembering to say ‘no straw please’ is a conscious action that feels really good!

None of these options – avoiding plastic water bottles or banning straws – are necessarily going to solve our collective plastics pollution problem. But it helps! And knowing that each day you can make a conscious choice as a consumer to vote with your dollars and your actions to avoid single use plastic helps send a message to restaurants, shops, and yes, even government!

Built in Hawaii: A Unique Storytelling Experience

Impact Hub Honolulu hosted our first Built in Hawaii in partnership with Hawaii Public Radio’s GenListen, an entrepreneurial showcase and storytelling experience featuring three inspiring Hawaii-based entrepreneurs.

This pecha kucha-style event featured Kuha`o Zane of Sig Zane Designs, Zak Barry and Matthew Hong of Banán, and Mattson Davis of Kona Brewing Company. These folks came together to present their success stories and discuss how to sustain an idea. After the presentations, there was an Open Space Technology segment where crowdsourced ideas became discussion topics for both the presenters and the crowd the group divided into  conversation groups to expand upon ideas that had been presented.

Watch a brief recap of the evening here from HNL Web Design:

More about the Event
PechaKucha (Japanese: ペチャクチャ, IPA: [petɕakɯ̥tɕa], chit-chat) is a presentation style in which 20 slides are shown for 20 seconds each (6 minutes and 40 seconds in total). The format, which keeps presentations concise and fast-paced, powers multiple-speaker events.

Open Space Technology (or facilitated Small Group Discussion)
Guests have the opportunity to pose questions and discuss ideas in a small group with the experts that brought their ideas to reality. This audience-driven facilitation methodology encourages deeper conversation and allows participants to opt into topics and conversation that creates richer dialog and encourages the growth of new ideas.

More about the Speakers:

Kona Brewing Company/Mattson Davis: Davis arrived in Kona in March of ’97 and directed KBC’s gargantuan growth over the next 15 years. Holding on to the spirit of Hawaii through “Liquid Aloha,” he led a team of exceptional individuals to take the brand from Kona, to the mainland, and internationally.

 

 

 

Sig Zane Designs/Kuha‘o Zane: Zane is a designer and artist. In his work he weaves together indigenous Hawaiian concepts into modern, street wear fashion pieces like an Aloha shirt, Vans or a New Era hat.

 

 

 

Banán/Zak Barry and Matthew Hong: Banán’s mission is to provide Hawai’i with a healthy, wholesome, and affordable meal made from fresh produce picked right from the islands. We strongly believe in supporting local farmers and boosting the local economy. Why? Because by consciously making the decision to buy local, people become more connected to themselves, their communities, and the land they live on. Banán strives to build a happier and healthier world by bettering these three spheres of our customers’ lives.