Mālama Hawaiʻi Program Grows on Maui, Molokaʻi and Lānaʻi

The Mālama Hawaiʻi program gives visitors the opportunity to volunteer with a local nonprofit organization in Hawaiʻi, opening the door to extraordinary experiences. The Maui Visitors Bureau has been working to bring nonprofits into the program on Maui, Molokaʻi and Lānaʻi. As Meagan DeGaia explains, “The Mālama Hawaiʻi program serves as a bridge between the visitor industry and our local nonprofits. We love that this program transforms visitors into stewards of the land."

Whether this is a visitorʻs first trip to Maui or Maui is their home away from home, the Mālama Hawaiʻi program opens the door to a variety of extraordinary experiences where they can connect with the ʻāina, Hawaiian culture, and ecological restoration efforts in meaningful life-changing ways. Many around the world share the Hawaiian cultural value of mālama, which is both a traditional value and a call to action, and they are called to volunteer through this important program.

The Mālama Hawaiʻi program embodies regenerative toursim. DeGaia continues, "In a word, regenerative tourism means balance. Itʻs where the ʻāina (land), kamaʻāina (residents) and malihini (visitors) all benefit. Iʻve seen how the visitor industry can be a driver of positive social change. This direction of regenerative tourism is the opportunity for all of us to work together to cause this positive shift in redefining and resetting the direction of tourism.”

Nonprofits in the Mālama Hawaiʻi Program:

Maui

• Blue ʻāina Cleanup
• Hawaiʻi Wildlife Fund
• Kaʻehu
• Kipuka Olowalu
• Lāhainā Restoration Foundation
• Leilani Farm Sanctuary
• Mālama Maui Nui
• Maui Cultural Lands
• Maui Sewing Hui
• Nā Mahiʻai ʻo Keʻanae
• Pacific Whale Foundation
• Redline Rafting
• Sierra Club of Hawaiʻi - Maui Group
• Surfrider Foundation - Maui Chapter
• Keālia Pond National Wildlife Refuge

Molokaʻi

• Molokaʻi Land Trust

Lānaʻi

• Lānaʻi Cat Sanctuary