Hope through the darkest times—2023 year end giving
The Sierra Club of Hawaiʻi’s 2023 Year End fundraising letters should be hitting your mailboxes any day now. This year’s letter from our director, Wayne Tanaka, shares his hopes for the new year and ever growing appreciation for the communities’ dedication to Hawaiʻi’s environment and people, despite the many hardships our islands faced in 2023.
Please check your mail or read the letter below and make the most generous gift you are able to before the year’s end. 100% of your donation will stay in the islands and go straight to our grassroots work tackling the biggest challenges Hawaiʻi faces.
Aloha,
First and foremost, I hope this letter finds you and your loved ones well. This has been an incredibly difficult year for all of us who care about Hawaiʻi’s people, environment, and future, and it’s truly deepened my appreciation for our members and donors like you.
Being part of the Sierra Club gives me hope during our darkest times. I came to the Sierra Club of Hawaiʻi because I believed that Hawaiʻi needs an organization that will fearlessly advocate for our ʻāina, our kamaʻāina, and our social fabric—even if it means standing up to some of the most powerful institutions in our islands. And over the last two years, it has been an absolute honor to stand with the incredible community of remarkable Sierra Club staff, members, friends, and allies working tirelessly to right environmental injustices, defend our public trust resources from exploitation and abuse, and give our children and the generations to come the best future we possibly can. Which is why I am so grateful to you, for your support of this work and the betterment of our Hawaiʻi nei.
Our progress against all apparent odds shows just what we can accomplish together, as people committed to protecting these islands we love and call home. With your support, this year we have:
Expanded our campaign to Shut Down Red Hill to include multi-generational organizing and establish even greater connections between water protectors throughout Oceania and the North American continent;
Established even stronger protections for East Maui streams by reducing the amount of stream water that the state Land Board allowed a real estate investment corporation to divert and inevitably waste by 25 percent;
Successfully blocked the state attorney general’s outrageous attempt to roll back East Maui water protections based on completely false allegations regarding the devastating Maui fires;
Stood up against the exploitation of our housing crisis to attack laws protecting our environment, Native Hawaiian rights, iwi kūpuna, and food security, via an executive “emergency proclamation” that erodes the very foundations of our constitutional democracy;
Distributed over 600 native plants to hundreds of homes on Oʻahu, sharing our love for and the importance of Hawaiian plants to our ecosystems and climate resiliency; and
Continued our work to safeguard Hawaiʻi’s water future, enlisting over 40 other organizations—working in areas ranging from housing, to healthcare, to Native Hawaiian rights—in various campaigns to protect our precious wai.
With the help of members and donors like you, we continue to prove that we’re up to a challenge. Our track record comes from our unique ability to harness the power and passion of dedicated community leaders, organizations, and people from across the islands. We consistently beat back entities with far deeper pockets and political connections because we know how to inspire and organize those who are willing to stand for our islands, and protect what we love.
Together, with your support, we will step into 2024 ready to:
Complete the defueling of the Navy’s Red Hill fuel storage facility and keep us on the path to shutting down Red Hill once and for all;
Support the needs and wishes of West Maui communities as they continue to heal from the devastation of the August infernos;
Ensure that entities like the Public Utilities Commission uphold the public trust in our energy resources and recognize the importance of equity and justice in achieving a renewable energy future;
Defend the hard-fought laws established to protect our ʻāina, people, and governance from corporate exploitation and powerful special interests, whether from Hawaiʻi or far beyond our shores; and
Keep us moving on the path towards climate resilience, including through the restoration of water, food, and social systems grounded in Native Hawaiian science, practices, and values.
My hope, our hope for the future doesn’t come from all we have accomplished—it comes from our ability to see the potential for what the world can become, when people work together. This past year, despite hardships and unimaginable loss, we have also seen the power of Hawaiʻi’s communities continue to grow. We will carry that power with us as we move into the new year.
Will you continue to stand with us by making a special year-end gift? Our December 31st deadline is right around the corner—so please consider continuing your support today.
Please consider making the most generous contribution you can. Every dollar we receive goes to work immediately here in Hawaiʻi, and helps us continue to tackle the biggest challenges facing our islands—regardless of who or what we may be up against.
Mahalo nui loa, and please take care.
Sincerely,
Wayne Chung Tanaka
Chapter Director
Sierra Club of Hawaiʻi
P.S. Thank you for powering our local work here in Hawaiʻi. We’ll put your money to work immediately, and 100 percent of it will stay here in the islands for local work!