RiseHI’s 2025 Wrapped
As we wrap up another year, we want to thank you for being part of RiseHI’s journey throughout 2025. Whether you followed our work, shared our mission, partnered with us, or supported us along the way, your belief in this cause helped keep the focus where it belongs: expanding opportunity for Hawaiʻi’s students through education that is local, relevant, and built to last.
This year was about momentum. About showing what’s possible when schools, funders, and community partners come together around a shared vision for Hawaiʻi’s future. Because of that collective support, RiseHI was able to grow in reach, strengthen our programs, and continue building long-term educational infrastructure that will serve students for years to come.
Here’s a look at what we accomplished together in 2025:
Expanding Our Reach Across Hawaiʻi’s Schools
In 2025, RiseHI took a major step forward in expanding access to place-based, career-connected learning across Hawaiʻi. We grew from 3 partner schools in 2024 to 11 schools in 2025, significantly increasing student access to our Make It Happen and ʻOihana Career Explorations programs.
Schools subscribing to Make It Happen in 2025 included:
Waimea High School (Kauaʻi)
DOE Distance Learning (Statewide)
Highlands Intermediate (Oʻahu)
Mālama Honua Public Charter School (Oʻahu)
Olomana School (Oʻahu)
Kapaʻa Middle School (Kauaʻi)
Kalama Intermediate School (Maui)
ʻAiea High School (Oʻahu)
Saint Louis School (Oʻahu)
Niu Valley Middle School (Oʻahu)
Schools subscribing to ʻOihana Career Explorations included:
ʻIlima Intermediate School (Oʻahu)
Highlands Intermediate (Oʻahu)
Olomana School (Oʻahu)
Kapaʻa Middle School (Kauaʻi)
Kalama Intermediate School (Maui)
Waimea High School (Kauaʻi)
ʻAiea High School (Oʻahu)
Each of these partnerships represents more students gaining exposure to careers that are relevant, attainable, and rooted in Hawaiʻi’s workforce and communities, helping them better understand the pathways available to them close to home.
Growing the ʻOihana Career Exploration Library
2025 was also a pivotal year for ʻOihana Career Explorations. Over the course of the year, we secured over $150,000 in ʻOihana production funding, allowing us to fund 16 new career exploration courses in a single year.
Each ʻOihana course represents a real career pathway in Hawaiʻi. This year, students explored professions such as hospital aides, fashion designers, documentary filmmakers, commercial drivers, entrepreneurs, and general contractors, learning directly from local professionals about daily responsibilities, essential skills, and the long-term opportunities these careers offer in Hawaiʻi.
Combined with our initial pilot funding, RiseHI has now raised support for 25 total ʻOihana courses, moving us closer to our long-term goal of building an 80-course ʻOihana library by 2027. Each course is designed with longevity in mind, reaching students year after year and helping them explore a wide range of local career paths tied directly to Hawaiʻi’s economy and communities.
Mahalo to Our Funding Partners
This progress would not be possible without the generous support of our funding partners, who invested in building long-term educational infrastructure for Hawaiʻi’s students.
Mahalo nui loa to:
Applied Energy Services (AES) Hawaiʻi for supporting two energy-related ʻOihana courses
Hawaiʻi Dental Service Foundation for supporting two dentistry-related ʻOihana courses
Healthcare Association of Hawaiʻi for supporting five healthcare-focused ʻOihana courses
Kosasa Foundation for supporting three ʻOihana courses
G.N. Wilcox Foundation for supporting one ʻOihana course
First Hawaiian Bank Foundation for supporting one ʻOihana course
State of Hawaiʻi Grant-in-Aid (GIA) for supporting the production of one ʻOihana course as part of a larger award
Atherton Family Foundation for supporting one ʻOihana course
These investments go beyond individual programs. They help ensure that students across Hawaiʻi—now and in the future—have access to career exploration resources that reflect local values, industries, and opportunities.
Looking Ahead
As we move into the next year, we’re excited to begin production on these new ʻOihana courses, expand into additional schools, and continue refining curriculum that supports students in imagining meaningful futures here in Hawaiʻi.
To our school partners, funders, and community supporters: mahalo for believing in this work. Your support allows RiseHI to keep building educational pathways that are place-based, long-term, and designed to serve generations of students to come.