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Giving Tuesday is Happening Next Week – Here’s How you Can Give Locally

Each year the global giving event known as Giving Tuesday occurs on the Tuesday following Thanksgiving – this year Giving Tuesday will be December 3.

Giving Tuesday is meant to encourage citizens to share what they can during the season of giving, and to be more engaged in their community – all good things we can totally support.

Giving Tuesday was “created in 2012 as a simple idea: a day that encourages people to do good.” Over the past seven years, this idea has grown into a global movement that inspires hundreds of millions of people to give, collaborate, and celebrate generosity.

If you have the ability to give this year as an individual or an organization, there are lots of ways to support LOCALLY! There are lots of Member organizations and local community groups that can benefit from financial or physical support. You can also search on the Giving Tuesday website to find other opportunities that might align with your giving needs. Use the search function here to find details about other Hawaii organizations that might benefit from your generosity.

 

Here are some of the Impact Hub HNL Member Non-Profit Organizations you can Support this year for Giving Tuesday:

ALS Foundation of Hawaii: Helping those with ALS live more meaningful lives. Learn more and donate here.

Amnesty International: An important international organization focused on human rights. Support the national organization here and follow the local chapter on Facebook.

Breast Cancer Hawaii: A local organization by and for survivors of breast cancer. They host events, create resources, and publish great content for those looking to get involved in the movement. You can donate time or money here.

Conservation international: One of the largest conservation groups in the world, CI works to protect our most important natural resources here in Hawaii and beyond. Learn more about their Hawaii efforts and donate here.

Dreamhouse Hawaii: A public charter school started by Member Alex Teece (read more about Alex and Dreamhouse here. They are hosting a Holiday Campaign to raise $20,000 to support the school. Support the school here.

Hawaii Women in Filmmaking: Changing the narrative in films and filmmaking, this impactful organization hosts camps and programs for girls and women to get in front of and behind the lens. See how you can contribute here.

Hui Aloha: A volunteer group focused on bringing awareness to houselessness issues in Hawaii. Their campaign Aloha Lives Here helps support the Puʻuhonoua O Waiʻanae village- you can support their work here.

Indivisible Hawaii: Local action against the Trump agenda. Learn more, sign up for events, and donate here.

Kanu Hawaii is a grassroots organization that supports volunteerism around the state, including coordinating the local Volunteer Week each year. Learn more and donate to support their efforts here.

Surfrider Oahu: The local branch of the global Surfrider movement is focused on cleaning our oceans and waterways with their Blue Water Task Force, and supporting businesses with the Ocean Friendly Restaurant Program. Learn how you can support here.

Sustainable Coastlines Hawaii: Donate your time or money to this powerful organization focused on climate change activism and helping us create cleaner oceans and beaches. Learn how you can support here.

Toys for Tots: We are accepting toys and funds for local children ages 0-12 until December 2, 2019. Gifts must be new and unwrapped – drop them in the large box at the Host desk. Cash and Credit donations are accepted at the Host desk.

Thrive Global Hawaii: Thrive Global is a service-based travel organization that gives back to underserved youth. Learn more, donate, and sign up to travel – the first 2020 impact trip is to Bali!

Transform Hawaii Government: Working to advance Hawaii’s government by improving transparency and technology, and streamlining government services for us all. Sign up for their newsletter here.

WorkNow Hawaii: Focused on removing barriers for those living with disabilities, Work Now offers services like cleaning, couriers, and more. Learn how you support them here.

 

 

Elemental Excelerator: Social & Environmental Impact Partner

Elemental Excelerator is a global climate-tech accelerator based in Hawaii that funds early- and mid-stage startups focused on impact across a wide variety of sectors to create measurable social and environmental impact. To date, they have supported 99 companies and 8 cohorts (#8 was just announced, and includes Member organization FarmLink Hawaii).

Each year their application process brings in some of the most innovative companies from around the world, and this year saw the most ever, at 800 startups. According to a recent article, 81% of those companies have technologies that lead directly to greenhouse gas reductions, and 67% indicated that their technologies have specific applications in low-income communities.

From its applicant pool, Elemental selects 15-20 companies annually to be part of their newest cohort. Companies chosen usually focus on solving systemic issues in agriculture, energy, water, mobility, and the circular economy.

Elemental has been an instrumental partner for Impact Hub, signing on as an official Impact Partner for both 2018 and 2019, and we are grateful for their support, guidance, and friendship over the years.

During our Wefunder campaign, the Elemental team talked about how the work they are doing aligns with work Impact Hub Honolulu is doing to build an interconnected Hawaii to support and grow entrepreneurs locally and beyond.

Member Spotlight: Talking Trash with Nicole Chatterson of Zero Waste Oahu

Today we’re sharing a Member Spotlight featuring Nicole Chatterson. Nicole works for the University of Hawaii Office of Sustainability and she is a co-founder/director of Zero Waste Oahu. ZWO, as the name implies, is focused on a zero waste future for the island, and she’s working to bring awareness to our various waste streams. ZWO advocates for an integrated approach across the island and a move towards the four R’s: reduce, refuse, reuse, recycle.

Right now, Zero Waste Oahu is organizing community members to get their voices heard about the new Honolulu Waste Management Plan, and is advocating for inclusion of more sustainable solutions, like a policies or programs that reduce the amount of waste created in Honolulu, a large-scale composting network system that would serve residents, and better recycling (by creating less items to recycle!). Sign-up for Zero Waste Oʻahuʻs email to stay in tune and check out web feature here.

Andrea Bertoli (AB): Tell us more about the vision of the Zero Waste Oahu: what are your goals and how are you going to get there?

Nicole Chatterson (NC): Zero Waste Oʻahu envisions an equitable, waste-free future. We are achieving this vision this through policy support, community engagement, and demonstration projects that demystify waste reduction actions.

Our work starts here on Oʻahu and we plan for our impact to ripple throughout Hawaiʻi. Our goals include developing a Zero Waste Plan for Honolulu, working with the County on waste reduction policy, and reaching out to a wide range of audiences and businesses so we can help people understand how zero waste is relevant and approachable for everyone!

In the next year, we have a goal to launch a more waste reduction demo projects (like the food waste diversion demo project we are working on with the Impact Hub using Bokashi buckets), and increase our capacity to support the business sector through waste audits that will help them transition to zero waste.

AB: What does a zero-waste future look like?

NC: By definition, zero waste means keeping 90% of the waste stream out of the landfill or incinerator and creating production systems that are not harmful to people or the planet. A zero-waste future would follow the waste hierarchy, meaning we do our very best to reduce waste first. We will realize recycling is a tool to be used in moderation, not an excuse to overconsume. We would stop sending our trash and recycling overseas and into low-income neighborhoods.

We will stop wasting land, water, and energy to produce things that are designed as single-use or designed to become obsolete. We will stop using toxic and fossil fuel-based materials (like plastic) to over-package our food. Our economy would become circular, where any waste that is produced is designed to be a resource. In a circular economy we would compost and turn our food waste into a nutritious resource to grow food, instead of letting it off-gas methane in a landfill or be incinerated at H-POWER.

A zero waste future is a decision to design our society to produce less waste, instead of resigning to engineering our open spaces to become waste repositories.

AB: You were just granted a fellowship through WildGift – tell us more about that organization and how it’s going to help you here.

NC: I am soooo excited about this! Wild Gift is a year long leadership development program for social and environmental entrepreneurs that are in the process of building a social enterprise. Five of us were selected into the cohort and we will kick off our year together with a backpacking trip in the Bould-White Clouds Wilderness in Idaho – the final wilderness area created during the Obama administration.

This 3-week trek is designed to give us the gift of time, of connecting with ourselves, and our cohort away from the grind of daily life. We will then meet virtually over the next year, along with our mentors, and culminate the program in 2020 with a rafting trip.

This program will help me develop Zero Waste Oʻahu through peer-to-peer mentorship with other entrepreneurs that are launching a social venture. I also expect this program will help me become a better leader for Zero Waste Oʻahu by allowing me to unplug – there is nothing like time away from the computer, social media, and other distractions. to recharge and create clarity and direction.

AB: What’s your favorite trashy subject?
NC: Soooo many.

Fruit wrapped in plastic. Why? Why! Why?! The Simply To Go Store at UH Mānoa sells apples and oranges wrapped in plastic. I’ve been told people think itʻs more sanitary, and yet it is well-documented that plastic leaches into/onto our food, so there is really no logic here.

Also, trashy guilt is another topic I could go on about. For me, this the feeling when you end up with plastic regardless of how hard you try to eliminate it from your life. This happens to me at restaurants too often: I forget to say “no straw please” … and then Iʻm stuck with plastic.

AB: If people want to get better about reducing their waste stream, what are three easy steps they can take? 

NC:

1. If you like getting coffee or smoothies out, BYO cup! It makes a huge difference, about 30% of our waste stream is made up of single-use packaging and containers! If you do not want to buy a fancy mug, a mason jar (with a cozy to protect your hands from heat) on works perfectly! Currently, none of the single-use cups are recyclable in Honolulu. Some other cities offer compostable cups, which are a better option because they will cause less damage if they get into our natural environment. Even then, the best thing you can do is AVOID any single-use packaging because they all take a lot of resources to make and transport–which seems ridiculous when you realize that you use the cup for a matter of minutes.

2. Sign-up to opt out of junk mail. Most junk mail cannot be recycled because glossy paper and plastics are mixed in the envelopes. You can opt out of junk mail using these directions:

  • To opt out for five years: Call toll-free 1-888-5-OPT-OUT (1-888-567-8688) or visit www.optoutprescreen.com. The phone number and website are operated by the major consumer reporting companies. To opt out permanently: You may begin the permanent Opt-Out process online at www.optoutprescreen.com.

3) Buy less packaged food by shopping in bulk bins. Shopping in bulk bins means you get to choose and reuse the packaging. This is made easy by stores like Down to Earth, Kokua Market, and Safeway (the Kapahulu, Piikoi/Beretania, and Mānoa stores) which offer bulk bins for things like snacks, grains, nuts, oats, legumes, and candy. They key is to BYO container. You can tare (which means pre-weigh) plastic or glass containers at the register before shopping, and write the weight with sharpie on a sticker to put on the bin. At the check-out they subtract the weight . The tare process is not necessary if you use the light-weight reusable bags instead.

AB: How can people get involved in the organization?

NC: The best way to get involved right now is by sharing your thoughts with the County of Honolulu on a zero waste future before August 27th: find out the details on our website. Honolulu’s zero waste future needs your voice. You can also stay in touch by signing up for our newsletter on our website and follow us on Instagram, too.

Member Spotlight: Christine Mai‘i Sakuda of Transform Hawaii Government

Our ongoing series of Member Spotlights highlights the great work that our members are doing across their fields in Hawaii. Christine Sakuda of Transform Hawaii Government (THG) is a local organization that seeks to improve and modernize the Hawaii state government.

You can learn more about the organization here:

THG has hosted multiple events here at Impact Hub HNL, and we look forward to hosting more of these interesting and progressive events about how to improve our government from the ground up! Follow our Facebook events page to keep up to date.

I chatted with Christine over email and asked her to tell me more about the work that THG is doing, and why it’s so important.

transform hawaii government

Andrea B (AB): Can you tell me a little bit more about Transform Hawaii Government?

Christine Sakuda (CS): Transform Hawaii Government (THG) advocates for modernization of state government services so that such services can be provided to the public, Hawaii businesses, and even government officials and employees themselves in an efficient, transparent, and meaningful way. Modernization also helps increase availability and access to electronic data, promoting data-based decision-making in shaping Hawaii’s future.

AB: Tell me a little bit more about you – how did this become your role/passion/career?

CS: I’ve been working in the technology transformation space since 1997, starting off in healthcare and recently transitioning to state government with THG. For 15 years, I’ve worked for non-profit organizations, being the first executive director for the most recent organizations: the Hawaii Health Information Exchange and THG. I do not have a formal education in technology but learned on the job, and believe that technology can be a powerful tool to help solve problems and deliver services.

AB: What are some of the biggest issues you see with our state government?

CS: State departments and agencies have traditionally focused on their own department goals in a decentralized manner. These departments matured during a time when technology was nascent, heavily customized, and not user-friendly. Since then, there have been huge advancements in technology that allows for more enterprise (statewide) planning and systems integration to occur; many of these advancements have brought data to the fingertips of mobile device users, but not yet to our government agencies. Citizens expect the state government to keep pace with these advancements and make best efforts to leverage new technologies to deliver services in more efficient and convenient ways.

AB: What can Hawaii citizens do to get more involved in government and transparency?

CS: THG encourages interested individuals to join the THG coalition through our website to stay informed on the state’s progress towards IT modernization as well as learn how to become more active, such as testifying in support of key legislation that advances these efforts.

AB: Can you tell me more about your events that you’ve hosted here?

CS: THG hosted a series of talk story sessions at Impact Hub Honolulu focused on key themes of state modernization: a state IT strategic plan, modernizing infrastructure, open data, cyber-security and more. Impact Hub HNL is an ideal, central venue to bring together subject matter experts and state leadership to discuss these topics to raise awareness of challenges and discuss opportunities for improvement potentially through public policy.

AB: What upcoming events can we look forward to in 2019?

CS: THG’s speaker series will be returning to Impact Hub HNL in the New Year. We are in the process of developing our 2019 calendar of events and will announce upcoming speaker series topics on our website and through our newsletter. We plan to raise our speaker series to the next level in 2019 by hosting more panel discussions that move these discussions forward. For more information on these events, including Facebook Live video of past presentations, visit our site and select “Events.”

Thanks, Christine, for taking the time to chat with us!

Member Spotlight: ARCH Hawaii

In case you haven’t noticed, Impact Hub HNL has a couple truly unique additions to the space that came from some of our most creative members. Evan Collier’s company ARCH Hawaii, along with his team including Impact Hub members Micah Thrasher and Lealyn Papaya, designed and fabricated our new phone booths to provide an attractive and fun solution for a well-known coworking challenge.

Impact Hub HNL Co-Founder George hiding out in our new phone booths.

Aligned with our commitment to sustainability, ARCH created the booths from mostly reclaimed wood from Re-Use Hawaii, repurposed polycarbonate from our existing office walls, and other found items. Other recent projects include creating jumbo sized harps for a beach wedding altar in Ko’Olina, brand activation displays for major brands such as Beats by Dre, 40-foot train car facades for an event in Maui, and upscale furniture pieces for commercial designers.

On his first visit to Oahu in 2015, Evan saw that there was not an inclusive design and fabrication shop on island. Whether it’s a six-foot-tall set of illuminated letters for your event or a professional, cutting-edge display for your shop, you would likely need to build it yourself, work with a local general contractor, or have it built overseas and shipped over.

But Evan knew his company, ARCH NYC, could help solve some of these challenges – and it allowed him to stay on the island after realizing his love for the ocean and the Aloha spirit. Thus, ARCH Hawaii started as a sister studio to his thriving NYC shop.

Evan teamed up with Rick Schneider, local business owner of Events International (EI), a full service event company established in 1987. Partnering helped him utilize existing office and warehouse space, combine production and bookkeeping staff, business networks, and the experience and expertise of an on-island part. Many of EI’s clients want to display large structures or custom items that can’t be found in stores, so the partnership made sense.

Evan says a good piece of advice for budding entrepreneurs is, “to find an established business that will take you under their wing. If you can find the right fit, it’s a creative way to leverage each other and operate symbiotically.”

Currently, Evan leads a small dedicated staff in Hawaii consisting of two designers, two fabricators and one sales person, but organically grows using their network of local artists and makers when bigger jobs require more man power. The team operates as a family and Evan regularly promotes health and positivity in the workplace, being mindful that a successful and vibrant company can only be lead by successful and vibrant employees.

ARCH’s Lead Designer & Project Manager Micah Thrasher, a Hawaii native, holds a doctorate in Architecture Design from the University of Hawaii and runs the show while Evan is back in NYC or selling and bidding on projects here around the state. The two started as friends and then learned they both had a vision of building beautiful and sustainable creative projects for Hawaii.

As a young company, ARCH’s main focus is learning about local organizations that may need their help. They are looking to present their work to architects, theaters, dance companies, retail shops, event companies, designers, and anyone who needs a small or large creative build project brought to life. If that’s you or someone you know, please reach out and say hello to ARCH Hawaii. Find out more on their website and follow them on Instagram.

Humans of Impact Hub: Holger & Suzanne of Topos Media

Holger Heine and Suzanne Savet have been a part of our Impact Hub HNL community since we were in our ProtoHub location. Holger and Suzanne are dedicated Hosts, and you’ll see them behind the Host desk at least once per week – but sometimes more often! They are also members of the coworking community and you’ll see them around throughout the week.

I was really happy to sit down and learn more about their current business, their background, and how they ended up here in at Impact Hub HNL.


Currently Holger and Suzanne manage Topos Productions and develop digital apps and games. They originally chose the name topos, which means place, location, or opportunity in classical Greek, as the theme for theirSan Francisco.-based special event production and marketing business back in the 1990s. Today, Suzanne explains, instead of curating real-life events, their mobile and web-based app help create customized experiences in the digital sphere.

Over the years, their business model has shifted its focus on creating stronger social impact, aiming to make the world a little better, especially for digitally underserved communities.

One of their larger current projects is the development of an app for people with mild memory problems. The app aims to create a sense of connectedness and importance in people suffering from early Alzheimer’s and other dementias. In addition to reinforcing personal memories, the app connects people with memory problems to their friends and loved ones, helps them stay in touch, and allows them to express their love. Holger and Suzanne are developing the app together with a professor at the John A. Burns School of Medicine and they are currently looking for additional beta testers for the app. If you or someone you know is interested in beta testing the app, please reach out here.

But Holger and Suzanne have not always been app developers – both of them have pretty diverse backgrounds. Suzanne started her career in the meeting and event industry in Washington, DC, and Holger spent many years in the hospitality and transportation industry in San Francisco.

They met while working together at one of the leading destination management and corporate event production companies of San Francisco. In 1996, they took the leap and founded Topos Productions as a special event production company, curating everything from corporate conferences for thousands of people to small, exclusive VIP wine country tours and incentive travel experiences.

The transition to a digital media production and marketing company started early on: their clients started asking them to make websites for their special events and incentive travel programs. In the late 1990s, these were simple ‘brochure’ type sites, and this got Suzanne and Holger to work more often in the digital space. “We look at websites as interactive events, which allowed us to combine our event production skills with website design and online marketing services,” she said.

“Creating a website (or mobile app) is about creating an experience,” says Suzanne, “focusing on the experiential factor in website and app development led us to emphasize user experience as a key component of successful digital media design.” This movement into the digital space meant they could become ‘digital nomads’ in Europe (starting in 2002, before it was a THING!). In 2008, an opportunity for Holger to pursue a PhD by research at the University of Melbourne came along, and Holger and Suzanne left their beloved San Francisco for a four-year stay in Australia.

During their time “down under,” Suzanne worked at the U.S. Consulate General Melbourne and served in the U.S. State Department and U.S. Department of Commerce, helping U.S. companies develop their business in Australia. After four more years of digital nomading, Suzanne and Holger have moved themselves and their business to Hawaii, providing digital media services with aloha.

We’re so grateful that this smart and interesting pair bring their social consciousness and their bright personalities to Impact Hub HNL everyday. Learn more about their business here.