Maui United Way Creates New Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Statement

Maui United Way, with funding support from Nuestro Futuro Foundation and facilitation by ʻAʻaliʻi Alliance, brought together a diverse group of community members from Maui, Molokaʻi, Lanaʻi and the state to develop a new Diversity, Equity and Inclusion statement.

“With aloha at the center of our work, Maui United Way acknowledges the past and ongoing injustice here in these islands and works to set it right,” the statement says. “Through this acknowledgment and action, we will find a Hawaiʻi where race, ethnicity, national origin, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, class, disability status, geography, age and all other identities are embraced as assets that help to create beautiful contributions for the good of our communities.”

This statement is a short version of a longer more detailed statement that can be found on the Maui United Way website: mauiunitedway.org/what-we-do.

Abigail Perrin, Executive Director of Nuestro Futuro Foundation in Haʻikū, shared “working to uproot deep-seated inequities with the intention to promote positive change is a prime tenet of Nuestro Futuro Foundation’s work. We are proud to be in partnership with Maui United Way in this endeavor.” 

Summer Keli’ipio of ʻAʻaliʻi Alliance said: “ʻAʻaliʻi Alliance is honored to work with Maui United Way and the leaders in our communities who are actively working for justice and equity across the state. By first acknowledging current suffering and then putting in the hard work to transform from inequity to aloha, Hawaiʻi has a greater chance of meeting its potential and being a role model for the world.”

Maui United Way President and CPO Nicholas Winfrey said: “We are proud to acknowledge the underlying causes of inequity in our community and will continue striving to lead by example in this space. In the near future, we’ll be working with our local partners to help them develop their own unique DE&I statement.”

Along with their new Diversity, Equity and Inclusion statement, Maui United Way’s board of directors and staff have updated their existing Mission and Vision statements to reflect the new role it is playing within the community and the expansion of services and work they and their partnering nonprofits are providing for the community.