Mālama Hawai‘i Dashboard connects visitors with volunteer opportunities and nonprofits

The Hawaiʻi Tourism Authority (HTA) has partnered with Kanu Hawai‘i to make it easier for visitors to search and sign up for enriching volunteer opportunities throughout the state. Travelers planning their trips in the Hawaiian Islands can now access the Mālama Hawai‘i Volunteer Dashboard at GoHawaii.com/malama, the state’s official website for visitors.

From restoring Hawaiian fishponds, to beach cleanups, to sorting food donations at food banks, the Mālama Hawai‘i dashboard displays numerous volunteer opportunities for visitors. Activities can be sorted by date, activity type, cause and good for.

“Travelers are seeking a deeper, meaningful experience, and what makes the Hawaiian Islands unlike anywhere else in the world is our people, multi-cultural heritage, and reciprocal connection with the land and ocean,” said Mufi Hannemann, HTA board chair.

Visitors can sign up by submitting an RSVP, which generates an email to the partner who will respond with further information. Visitors can also provide monetary donations directly to the nonprofit organizations if they choose to. Opportunities to support Maui in its recovery following the August 2023 wildfires are also featured on the website.

“HTA’s partnership with Kanu Hawai‘i in developing the Mālama Hawai‘i dashboard is an example of regenerative tourism development benefiting our community,” said Daniel Nāho‘opi‘i, HTA’s interim president and CEO. “By integrating Kanu Hawai‘i’s system and their network of nonprofit organizations throughout the state, we are seamlessly connecting visitors with even more opportunities to improve our home for future generations.”

A custom reporting dashboard has also been designed to track key metrics statewide and by island, including the number of volunteers who sign up and the number of service hours provided. This feature is intended to minimize the burden on organization and community groups to collect and report the information.

“We need to invest more in quantifiable actions that will inform whether we are making a difference when it comes to responsible and regenerative tourism,” said Keone Kealoha, executive director of Kanu Hawaiʻi. “Creating a clear pathway for visitors to ‘actionize’ the Mālama Hawaiʻi message through volunteering is one way we can do that. Not only is it a positive giveback to Hawaiʻi, it’s an experience that many will say was the highlight of their visit.”

Throughout April, HTA is also supporting Volunteer Month organized by Kanu Hawai‘i as part of HTA’s 2024 Community Enrichment program, which supports experiences that are developed by the community, for the community, and are things the community wants to share with visitors. The statewide, cross-sector campaign brings together residents, visitors, nonprofits, businesses, schools, and government agencies in a concerted effort to take grassroots action that serves Hawai‘i’s communities.

HTA and its Hawai‘i Tourism USA team launched the Mālama Hawai‘i program in 2020 during the pandemic. Since then, the private-public partnership program has grown to include 36 organizations throughout the state. Participating organizations featured on the dashboard have completed HTA’s Visitor Readiness Checklist, ensuring they have the resources and capacity for visitors to participate alongside residents.

To learn more about the Mālama Hawai‘i program, visit GoHawaii.com/malama. Organizations interested in participating should email hta@kanuhawaii.org for more information.