HONOLULU — Jeff Bezos donated $7.5 million to two nonprofits in Hawaii — Ka Hale A Ke Ola and Family Promise of Hawaii — that help houseless families, according to a news release.
Ka Hale A Ke Ola Homeless Resource Centers, Inc. received $5 million from Bezos Day One Families Fund to help end homelessness for families on Maui. The nonprofit is Maui’s largest homeless shelter provider.
“This generous grant will enable our agency to extend resources to a larger part of the community and sets our course on a faster pace of ending homelessness on Maui,” Monique Ibarra, executive director at Ka Hale A Ke Ola, said in a statement.
The organization said it will use the donation to create temporary housing through master leasing of homes and form a volunteer outreach group. The funds will also be used to provide trauma services to children and families in shelters, replace furniture in the organization's two shelters, start a culinary arts training program and build a technology hub in the shelter with computers.
Family Promise of Hawaii received $2.5 million from the Day One Families Fund. The nonprofit, located on Oahu, helps homeless and low-income families with rental assistance, emergency shelter and stabilization programs once they have secured housing.
“Family homelessness is one of Hawaiʻi’s most urgent challenges, and we’re deeply grateful to the Day 1 Families Fund for sharing in our vision to address this crisis,” said Ryan Catalani, executive director of Family Promise of Hawaii, in a news release.
The organization plans to use the donation to expand its emergency shelter program, provide additional rental assistance and scale up its shelter diversion program.
Launched in 2018 by Bezos, the Day One Families Fund is focused on donating to organizations that provide shelter and hunger support to young families. This year, the fund donated $123.45 million to 40 organizations around the U.S. Over the past five years, the fund has donated more than $520 million to organizations fighting homelessness.
Bezos said earlier this month in an interview with CNN that he would give away most of his $124 billion fortune to charity during his lifetime. The Giving Pledge is a promise signed by 230 of the world’s richest people to donate the majority of their wealth, and many had criticized the 58 year old for not signing it.
The founder of Amazon reportedly bought a $78 million home on a 14-acre property on La Perouse Bay in Maui last year.
Michelle Broder Van Dyke covers the Hawaiian Islands for Spectrum News Hawaii. Email her ideas and feedback at michelle.brodervandyke@charter.com.