Honolulu, HI - Honsador Lumber awards $2,500 each to Hawaiian Community Assets (HCA) and Nanakuli Housing Corporation (NHC) through the Hawaiian Way Fund. These awards exemplify and continue Honsador's extensive work within the community. They have partnered with many organizations in providing expertise and professional assistance to serve the communities' need for affordable housing. "This is a natural way to bridge resources between Honsador, HCA and NHC and to recognize the wonderful work that they do for the community," stated Carl Liliequist, Chief Executive Officer of Honsador Lumber.

The awarded nonprofits offer many services and programs that are essential for a growing community. Hawaiian Community Assets is dedicated to increasing homeownership opportunities for Hawaii's low- and moderate-income families in Hawaii. Through its homebuyer education, credit counseling and mortgage lending programs, HCA assists Native Hawaiians to achieve economic self-sufficiency through homeownership. Michelle Kauhane, Executive Director of HCA remarked, "Honsador Lumber understands the commitment it takes to build a better community. We truly appreciate their donation and look forward to making every dollar count towards eventual home ownership."

Nanakuli Housing Corporation focuses on developing capital assets for low to moderate income families through homeownership and self help home repair training and home replacement. NHC also operates a recycle center for construction materials to assist these families with low to no cost supplies for their renovations. "We are so grateful for the contribution from Honsador. It will provide more resources to the families that we serve," said Kapiolani Barber, Executive Director of Nanakuli Housing Corporation.

Founded in 1935, Honsador Lumber has developed into the largest building materials supplier in Hawaii and has operations on Oahu, Maui, Hawaii and Kauai. Their mainland facility in Portland, Oregon serves as a valuable tool channeling lumber and other building materials to the branch outlets in Hawaii. Their customer service commitment is embodied in their motto, "Accurate, Complete, and On-Time."

The Hawaiian Way Fund is a community development fund administered by the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement (CNHA). Its mission is to support Hawaiian culture and knowledge for all of Hawaii by investing in community organizations that use Hawaiian ideas and approaches in the field of community development.

CNHA is a statewide and national association of Native Hawaiian organizations. Operating an active Policy Center, Grants Training Institute, Community Development Consulting Services and the Hawaiian Way Fund, we unify our members around solutions that embrace the strength of Native culture and knowledge in meeting community challenges. CNHA coordinates the Annual Native Hawaiian Convention in Honolulu every year to bring practitioners, community and policy makers together around issues important to Hawaiians.

This project is an initiative under the Office of Innovation and Improvement of the U.S. Department of Education. Education through Cultural & Historical Organizations, also known as ECHO, provides educational enrichment to Native and non-Native children and lifelong learners.