Services
From enhancing education and promoting environmental stewardship to advancing financial wellness and supporting health, our programs are designed to empower and uplift every member of our community. Join us in making a positive impact, as we work together to create a better future for Hawaii, one initiative at a time.
At WCC, we strive to mobilize our community to make a real difference.
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.
Food Pantry
Waikiki Community Center's emergency food pantry program is committed to addressing food insecurity and supporting those in need. Our program is part of the Hawaii Foodbank agency partnership. WCC has seen hunger and nutrition deficiency among its fixed-income seniors and ALICE families with young children as the cost of living has continued to increase. The Center is currently finalizing plans to build a commercial kitchen to increase our capacity to address not just hunger but nutrition insecurity by providing fresh, healthy food to the community.
Senior Services
Waikiki Community Center enhances the quality of life for our kupuna through a comprehensive range of senior services. We empower seniors to live active, meaningful lives where they both contribute to the community and receive support. Our programs and services address the whole person – body, mind, and heart. We support kupuna with critical needs such as housing, food insecurity and financial challenges and also facilitate seniors maintaining active lifestyles and being positive contributors to our community.
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ALICE Initiative
ALICE (Asset Limited Income Constrained Employed) are individuals and families who work, sometime in multiple jobs yet still struggle to get by each month. ALICE represents a growing number of those whose incomes are too high to qualify for government assistance yet live paycheck to paycheck and struggle to remain financially stable. Due to our state's high cost of living, Hawai`i has an especially high number of ALICE households, nearly half of all residents according to a study done by Aloha United Way.
BUILD Emergency Savings
BUILD targets ALICE (Asset Limited Income Constrained, Employed), working individuals and families who are employed, even with multiple jobs, yet live paycheck-to-paycheck, struggling to make ends meet. ALICE earns income above the federal poverty level and therefore often does not qualify for many government assistance programs. WCC's BUILD program is funded in part through the Aloha United Way (AUW) and Hawaii Community Foundation (HCF) who administer an island-wide ALICE initiative.
Thrive by 5
Need help paying for preschool or denied state tuition assistance? We are here to help. Due to the rising cost of living in Hawai'i, many hard working families earn too much to quality for state assistance, yet struggle to cover the cost of preschool. To help make quality early education affordable for more families, WCC started the Thrive by 5 Affordable Preschool Initiative, reducing tuition to by about 50% for ALICE (Asset Limited Income Constrained, Employed) qualifying families.
Genki Ball Project
Genki Ala Wai’s mission is to make the Ala Wai Canal fishable and swimmable within seven years through bioremediation technology. As the Ala Wai is a part of our neighborhood, WCC kupuna, members, KCC students and CERENE Resilience Project will join efforts to create a more sustainable Waikiki.
WCC Plant Sale & Garden
In July 2021, amidst ongoing pandemic challenges, we initiated a garden club to encourage outdoor activity and safe socialization. With contributions from Barbara Maresca, Shannon Fagan, Kalani Matsuura, and Jeff Pang, our garden is flourishing, bringing joy to our community and promoting well-being. #letsgrowtogether
Keiki Building Community
KBC makes learning relevant to the lives of children by connecting community challenges into the curriculum in age-appropriate ways. Children learn they can make positive impact on their communities at every age, setting the foundation for lifelong community contributors and learners.