RiseHI Foundation · Ten years · 2016–2026

Hoʻoulu

to grow · to cause growth · to inspire

An anniversary dinner and live auction for the people who built the first decade —
and the students who get the next one.

Thursday, October 15, 2026 · 5:00–9:00 PM
Limelight Hawaii · 410 Atkinson Drive, next to the Ala Moana Hotel

Reserve a table See the evening
Where we stand

Ten years, and the part that still isn't finished.

RiseHI helps Hawaiʻi's keiki believe a future here is possible, see what that future could look like, and build the skills to reach it. We were founded in 2016 because opportunity should not require leaving home.

A decade later that work is three programs across the islands. Kids who had never met a general contractor, a filmmaker, or a pharmacy tech can now watch one walk them through the job — someone local, someone who sounds like them.

Our target is 80 ʻOihana courses across the 13 career pathways prioritized by the Hawaiʻi Department of Education by 2027, and double the students reached. We are 28 of the way there. That gap is what October 15 is for.

7,500+
Students reached since 2024. We expect to double this by 2027.
As of Aug 2026
17
Partner schools statewide, up from 4 in 2024.
As of Aug 2026
28
ʻOihana courses completed or in production. Goal: 80 by 2027.
As of Aug 2026
$222K
Invested directly into programs, mostly production and curriculum.
In 2025
The evening

Thursday, October 15 · 5–9 PM

5:00
Doors, pūpū and mingling. Hawaiian music sets the room.
5:45
Welcome from the emcee; buffet dinner service opens.
6:30
Ten years of RiseHI — highlights from all three programs.
7:05
Premiere of a short story film made by our Creative AI Accelerator Cohort 1 students.
7:30
Live auction.
8:15
Live band closes the night; dessert and dancing.
9:00
Aloha.
Venue

Limelight Hawaii
410 Atkinson Drive
Honolulu, HI · next to the Ala Moana Hotel

Dinner

Tables of eight, fully dressed. Full buffet — three entrées, four salads, rice, stir-fried vegetables, starter, and chef's dessert selection. Beverage service by ticket; every guest receives at least one.

Attire

Aloha elegant.

Your hosts

Carrying the night.

Two voices Hawaiʻi already knows.

Rachel Pacarro

Rachel Pacarro

Emcee

Co-host of HI Now Daily on Hawaii News Now.

Sweetie Pacarro

Sweetie Pacarro

Emcee

On-air host at 92.3 KSSK, Saturdays 11 a.m.–4 p.m.

What your table funds

Three programs, one arc.

Believe it is possible, see the pathway, build the skills to walk it.

01 · Believe

Make IT Happen

An eight-module social-emotional learning curriculum that builds confidence, resilience, and goal-setting, taught through the stories of local role models students recognize.

Grades 6–12 · Advisory period · Teacher-led
02 · Explore

ʻOihana Career Explorations

Media-rich courses that take students inside real Hawaiʻi careers — pharmacy tech, general contractor, culinary chef, filmmaker — hosted by kamaʻāina doing the work.

Grades 6–12 · Self-paced · 13 CTE pathways
03 · Build

Creative AI Accelerator

Student teams learn creative AI production tools and use them to make short films honoring kūpuna, finishing with a public premiere, a certificate, and a paid stipend.

Ages 15–26 · 8 weeks · Paid, hybrid cohort
Sponsorship levels

Every table seats eight.

Tables are limited by room capacity and assigned in order of commitment.

$20,000
Presenting · only one
Two premium tables
16 seats · front & center
  • “Presented by” billing on all event materials
  • Two minutes at the mic, plus emcee recognition
  • 48 beverage tickets
  • Step-and-repeat branding
  • Dedicated social post and email feature
  • Logo, featured, in the Annual Impact Report
  • First right of refusal for 2027
Est. deductible $18,560 Reserve
$10,000
Kilohana
8 seats · premium placement
  • Logo on signage, program and on-screen reel
  • Emcee recognition by name
  • 16 beverage tickets
  • Step-and-repeat branding
  • Dedicated social post
  • Logo in the Annual Impact Report
Est. deductible $9,280 Reserve
$5,000
Kākoʻo
8 seats · priority placement
  • Logo on program and on-screen reel
  • Grouped recognition from the stage
  • 12 beverage tickets
  • Name in the Annual Impact Report
Est. deductible $4,280 Reserve
$2,500
Hoaloha
8 seats · reserved
  • Name in the program and on-screen reel
  • Grouped recognition from the stage
  • 8 beverage tickets
  • Name in the Annual Impact Report
Est. deductible $1,780 Reserve
Not a full table

Other ways to be there.

$250 · per seat

Individual seat

Join us at an open table. Available as space allows.

Reserve seats
Est. deductible $160 per seat
$1,000

Aloha Supporter

Cannot attend, but want your name in the room. Recognition in the printed program, on the on-screen reel, and in our Annual Impact Report.

Give $1,000
No seats · fully tax-deductible
In-kind

Donate an auction item

Experiences, stays, dining, art, sports, and one-of-a-kind access. Donors are credited in the program and from the stage.

Email us about an item
Due to be catalogued by October 8
Dates that matter

Printed invitations go to press October 1.

Commit by October 1 and your name or logo appears on the printed invitation that goes to every guest.

Oct 1
Last day to commit and appear on the printed invitation.
Oct 8
Auction item donations due to be catalogued. High-resolution sponsor logos due for the program and event signage.
Oct 9
Guest names due for all sponsor tables; final headcount to the venue.
Oct 15
Ten years of RiseHI. 5:00 PM at Limelight Hawaii.
In good company

Mahalo to the partners who built the first ten years.

ABC Stores Kauaʻi Charitable Fund
Applied Energy Services (AES) Hawaiʻi
Atherton Family Foundation
Bill & Laurie Hunt Family Fund
First Hawaiian Bank Foundation
Fred Baldwin Memorial Foundation
G.N. Wilcox Foundation
Harold K.L. Castle Foundation
Hawaiʻi Community Foundation
Hawaiʻi County Grant-in-Aid
Hawaiʻi Dental Service Foundation
Hawaiʻi Leadership Forum
Hawaiʻi Pacific Foundation
Healthcare Association of Hawaiʻi
Kosasa Foundation
Leeward Community College
McInerny Foundation
Six Tree Foundation
State of Hawaiʻi Grant-in-Aid
Tad & Margaret Miura Fund
TerraForm Hawaii