ʻUkulele Festival Hawaiʻi Donates Over 800 ʻUkulele to Maui Families
The ‘Ukulele Gift of Hope campaign aims to get ʻukulele into the hands of keiki and families affected by the Maui wildfires.
Roy and Kathy Sakuma, the founders of the ʻUkulele Festival Hawaiʻi nonprofit organization, are back at it again.
Knowing full-well how healing music can be, the Sakumas are donating over 800 ʻukulele to various Maui organizations and institutions who will help get the instruments into the hands of those who have been directly affected by the Maui wildfires.
“For more than 50 years, our mission has always been to bring laughter, love and hope to everyone through the music of the ‘ukulele, which is why we want to show our love and support to the Maui community through our ‘Ukulele Gift of Hope,” said the Sakumas. “The need for emotional healing is an integral part of recovery, and we hope the joy of the ‘ukulele will add to the healing process for everyone impacted directly on Maui, especially our keiki.”
Roy and Kathy Sakuma.
Photo: Courtesy of ʻUkulele Festival Hawaiʻi
Partnering with the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement, many of the ʻukulele will be delivered to the Kākoʻo Maui Relief & Aid Services Center in Kahului, which will make sure that the instruments are delivered to families and keiki who need them most.
“Aloha is more than just a word as it embodies a way of life deeply rooted in the soul of Hawai‘i, and over the past few weeks, I have had a front-row seat to that aloha, and the generosity from all over has been nothing short of overwhelming,” said Kūhiō Lewis, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement. “We would like to send a heartfelt mahalo to both Roy and Kathy for opening their hearts to the people of Maui and lifting their spirits through music and the ‘ukulele.”
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And this gift of music just keeps on giving. The Sakumas—who are staying busy since the final ʻUkulele Festival Hawaiʻi in 2022— are using their organization’s name and publicity to help educate and promote other ʻukulele-related events around Hawaiʻi, and the Sakumas are planning to hand-deliver some of the ʻukulele donations to families on Maui. In addition to their donation efforts, the Sakumas will be providing motivational talks at Baldwin High School on Oct. 5 and at the Hyatt Regency Maui Resort & Spa on Oct. 6. The campaign continues at the ‘Ukulele Workshop at the MACC on Oct. 7 before culminating at the 16th Annual Maui ‘Ukulele Festival also at the MACC on Oct. 8.
Roy Sakuma at the 42nd ʻUkulele Festival Hawaiʻi.
Photo: Courtesy of ʻUkulele Festival Hawaiʻi
Also at the 16th Annual Maui ‘Ukulele Festival, vintage ʻUkulele Festival Hawaiʻi t-shirts will be sold—with some dating as far back as 1999. Of course, in the spirit of giving and aloha, all proceeds made from the t-shirt sales will go directly to the Maui Food Bank.
“We would like to send our heartfelt mahalo to our donors along with the Hawai’i Community Foundation and the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement for their integral role in our campaign and supporting our mission of bringing smiles back to the faces of Maui’s keiki and families through the ‘ukulele,” added the Sakumas. And if you’d like to donate to help get even more instruments into the hands of those who need it most at the moment, you can make a monetary contribution at the ʻUkulele Festival Hawaiʻi’s Maui relief page.
