Rooted in Community

Giving Back to Our Island

From feeding kupuna at the holidays to gifting rescue boats to first responders, our restaurants are deeply woven into the fabric of Kona's community. Giving back isn't a side project. It's part of who we are.

9

Nonprofits supported

$10k

Toward Kailua rescue boat

50+

Boats for HUGS tournament

11 yrs

Holiday meal tradition

Hawaii County Fire Department rescue crews and Harbor House / Sayre Foundation partners gathered at Harbor House after a day of fundraising for the Kailua-Kona rescue unit

First Responders

Daniel R. Sayre Memorial Foundation

Monthly Fundraiser & Golf Tournament, with Harbor House

Harbor House donates a portion of sales on the fourth Tuesday of every month to the Sayre Foundation, which raises funds and purchases rescue equipment for the Hawaii County Fire Department. The restaurant helped drive donations toward the 27-foot Hoku Marine rescue boat Palekana, gifted to the Kailua-Kona fire station in April 2024, and in July 2024 hosted its first annual charity golf tournament with every dollar going to the foundation. The partnership was born out of General Manager Tawny Hanakeawe's own family rescue from Kealakekua Bay.

$10k

Toward rescue boat

Monthly

Fundraising night

100%

Golf proceeds given

Visit Daniel R. Sayre Memorial Foundation
Team Veritas celebrating their winning catch at the Hanapa'a for HUGS benefit fishing tournament in Kona

Children's Health

HUGS of Hawaii

Hanapa'a for HUGS, with Umeke's & Kona Brew Pub

HUGS of Hawaii supports families with children facing serious, life-threatening illnesses. Umeke's co-hosts the annual Hanapa'a for HUGS benefit fishing tournament alongside Kona Brew Pub, with the third annual event drawing more than fifty boats into Kona waters. It is a single day on the water that funds a year of respite and support for island families who need it most.

50+

Boats entered

Annual

Fishing tournament

Statewide

Family support

Visit HUGS of Hawaii
Keiki fishing with bamboo poles at the Keiki of Da Aina Foundation's annual bamboo fishing tournament at Old Kona Airport Park

Youth & Community

Keiki of Da Aina Foundation

Youth Outreach, with Umeke's

Keiki of Da Aina works with homeless families, mentors youth, hosts traditional learning field trips, coaches baseball, and organizes the annual bamboo fishing tournament at Old Kona Airport Park. The foundation also runs a yearly back-to-school event that sends kids home with stuffed backpacks, fresh haircuts, and donated clothing. Umeke's has been in the boat with them since the beginning.

200+

Backpacks per year

120+

Anglers at tournament

Year-round

Youth mentorship

Visit Keiki of Da Aina Foundation
Volunteers prepping Thanksgiving meals at Jackie Rey's Kona

Hunger Relief

The Salvation Army

Thanksgiving Meals, with Jackie Rey's

A tradition running eleven consecutive years at Jackie Rey's, started by original owners Paul Streiter and Angela Rey and carried through three ownership transitions. In its peak pre-pandemic year the kitchen fed more than nine hundred neighbors at the dining room and by delivery. After Covid the program shifted to a grab-and-go and direct-delivery format; most recently, Chef Jeric's team prepped meals for several hundred kupuna and shut-ins across West Hawaii alongside dozens of volunteers.

11 yrs

Running strong

Delivery

To kupuna & shut-ins

Dozens

Of volunteers

Visit The Salvation Army
The Kohala Center's Hawaii Island sustainability and land stewardship programs in the field

Environment

The Kohala Center

Earth Day, with Jackie Rey's

Each Earth Day, proceeds from Jackie Rey's specials go directly to The Kohala Center, an independent research, education, and 'aina stewardship organization building healthier ecosystems across Hawaii Island. Good food and good stewardship belong on the same plate, and this partnership keeps that promise front and center every April.

Earth Day

Annual fundraiser

100%

Of proceeds donated

Islandwide

Environmental work

Visit The Kohala Center
Volunteers at a Hawaii Island coastal cleanup removing marine debris from the shoreline

Community Cleanup

Clean Rewards

Quarterly Fundraisers, with Jackie Rey's

Jackie Rey's hosts quarterly fundraiser dinners for Clean Rewards and runs a Clean Cash program where monthly beach and community cleanup volunteers earn gift cards to spend at the restaurant. It turns environmental stewardship into a shared meal, closing a virtuous loop between dining patronage and keeping the Kona coast clean.

Quarterly

Fundraiser dinners

Monthly

Community cleanups

16,000+ lbs

Litter removed

Visit Clean Rewards
An adoptable kitten at the Hawaii Island Humane Society, one of many animals finding their forever homes on the Big Island

Animal Welfare

Hawaii Island Humane Society

Animal Welfare Advocate, with Jackie Rey's

Jackie Rey's has been a vocal supporter of the Hawaii Island Humane Society, promoting their mission on its community page and rallying guests behind animal welfare across the Big Island. The partnership is less about a single event and more about a standing commitment: any chance to point diners toward the shelter and the animals waiting there.

Ongoing

Advocacy partner

Islandwide

Shelter network

Adopt

Not shop

Visit Hawaii Island Humane Society
The historic 1870 H.N. Greenwell Store Museum in Kealakekua, the oldest surviving store in Kona and a Kona Historical Society living history site

History & Heritage

Kona Historical Society

Holiday Sponsorship, with Jackie Rey's

The Kona Historical Society preserves and shares Kona's stories through the Kona Coffee Living History Farm and the H.N. Greenwell Store Museum. Jackie Rey's has directly sponsored the Society, including hosting their entire holiday pupu party for staff and covering the full function. Supporting the people who keep Kona's memory alive is its own kind of local sourcing.

Sponsor

Direct support

2 sites

Living history

Since 1976

Preserving Kona

Visit Kona Historical Society
Fresh fruit and produce gathered for kupuna deliveries by The Big Island Giving Tree across Hawaii Island elderly housing communities

Kupuna Support

The Big Island Giving Tree

Holiday Support, with Harbor House

The Big Island Giving Tree has been serving Hawaii with aloha since 2011, delivering fresh fruits and vegetables to kupuna living in elderly housing complexes across the island, from Waimea and Kohala to Honoka'a, Hilo, Kea'au, Kona, Captain Cook, and Kealakekua. Kupuna on limited incomes often cannot afford to eat healthy or buy fresh food. Harbor House contributes every year, making sure Kona's elders, not just its visitors, are looked after.

Since 2011

Serving kupuna

8

Towns served

Fresh

Fruit & veggies

Visit The Big Island Giving Tree

Partner With Us

If you're doing the work,
we want to help.

We're always looking for new ways to support organizations making a difference on Hawaii Island. If that's you, get in touch , we'll find a way.

Get in touch