By Alex Harris, President, Harold K.L. Castle Foundation What will it take for young people to live, work and thrive in Koʻolau Oʻahu? As students head back to school, this question weighs heavily on me. Our foundation’s Windward Workforce Analysis puts hard numbers behind what many of us have long suspected: roughly 80% of Windward residents commute […]
Reflections from HKLCF Fellow, Krysta Reese
My first interaction with philanthropy started at the YMCA of Honolulu as a volunteer for its Annual Support Campaign to raise money for program scholarships. Later through the YMCA Teen Program, I was able to engage in the Youth Participatory Action Research Grant (YPAR). YPAR guided our team through the entire life cycle of a grant. We identified issues […]
The Hawaiʻi Youth Apprenticeship Network (HYAN)
The pageantry of Hawaii’s high school graduation season–better than anywhere else in the country–is upon us. For many, this is a culminating moment to celebrate the accomplishments of young people and their ‘ohana. But once all the lei are given out and the graduations parties end, what comes next for nearly 12,000 public school graduates? […]
Skilled Trades: Reflections and Projections
Over the last two years, our Foundation has proudly invested in a focused portfolio of seven grants—each designed to help more young people in Hawaiʻi enter the skilled trades, especially those from underrepresented and rural communities. We marked the close of this work at our Skilled Trades Final Convening in late 2025 at Honolulu Community […]
The Case for Investing in What Works: Lessons from GoodJobsHI
Imagine after high school, that you chose immediate income over college, taking a service job that offered quick money but little long-term growth. Now, you are in a position with no room to advance and your wages soon won’t be enough to support the family that you hope to start. This short-term gain came at […]