Financial Assistance
Waikiki Community Center's financial assistance programs aim to increase the financial stability of Hawaii residents. WCC has a variety of programs targeting different groups including seniors, families and working adults. Programs are designed to address a range of situations from helping with emergencies to building reserves to prevent future crisis. WCC staff works with each client to address overall challenges, deciding together where and how to target WCC funds to put them on path to long-term stability and success.
Additional Info
Waikiki Community Center has a variety of programs designed to help financially stabilize Hawaii residents struggling to make ends meet including:
Kupuna Grants – WCC provides funds for seniors’ expenses to stabilize critical situations. Funds are paid directly to vendors and used for basic needs such as rent, utilities or food and to cover health-related costs like medical expenses and mobility or other assistive devices.
Rental/Utility Assistance – Targeted support to address emergencies/short-term challenges and/or prevent crisis while helping to facilitate longer-term stability.
BUILD Emergency Savings – Two-thirds of working Americans can’t withstand a $500 emergency. Many are living paycheck-to-paycheck, one emergency away from crisis. WCC’s BUILD provides up to $1000 in matched savings (WCC matches $1 for every $1 saved) over 12 months to ALICE-qualified working Oahu residents.
Thrive by 5 Affordable Preschool Initiative - Due to the rising cost of living, many working families earn too much to qualify for government assistance, yet still struggle to cover the full cost of preschool. To help make quality early education affordable for more families, WCC Preschool has reduced tuition by approximately 50% for qualified families.