NĀ WAHINE TOA MAKING A DIFFERENCE
Empowering Tomorrow's Communities. Making a Difference Together.
OUR COMMITMENT TO EMPOWERING COMMUNITIES
HOW YOU CAN STILL HELP THE MAUI RECOVERY
Even though the flames have been extinguished, the road to recovery for the people of Maui is long and challenging. Your support is crucial in helping them rebuild their lives, homes, and communities. We've listed a few trusted nonprofits that are on the ground, providing essential aid to those affected by the wildfires. By donating to any of these organizations, you can make a significant impact on the recovery efforts and ensure that the people of Maui receive the help they need. Your generosity will provide relief, hope, and a brighter future for those who need it most.
$2.6 Million Raised for the Maui Wild Fires
After the devastating Maui wildfires, our team, led by Ilima-Lei Macfarlane, unintentionally created a viral fundraising campaign that ended up raising over $2.6 million. Using her Instagram platform and the media connections she built during her MMA career, Ilima-Lei not only attracted massive financial support, but also helped raise awareness about the true scale of the disaster and the urgent need for community aid. By March 2024, Nā Wahine Toa Foundation had successfully sent all the funds directly to the victims in collaboration with the Lahaina community.
But our work didn’t stop at fundraising. We also organized national donation drives and worked closely with local leaders to make sure the resources we gathered were distributed effectively. This grassroots approach was crucial in providing emergency relief and supporting the ongoing recovery in Lahaina. While we view these efforts as a collective show of aloha, the real spirit of aloha, resilience, and strength comes from the people of Lahaina themselves.
Join the Movement: Ways to Contribute to the Donation Efforts
Step up and make a difference with Nā Wahine Toa! Your contributions power our mission to support impacted communities. Whether it's a monetary donation, volunteering your time, or spreading the word, every action counts. Click here to contribute and become a part of our movement. Together, we can restore hope and help our communities rise stronger.
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Support Our Cause
How Your Donation Helps
Every dollar you donate goes directly towards our programs and initiatives aimed at promoting gender equality, education, healthcare, and economic empowerment for women and girls. Your support enables us to:
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Provide education and vocational training opportunities for women and girls in underserved communities.
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Offer services and resources to improve physical, mental and emotional health and well-being.
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Foster entrepreneurship and financial independence through skill-building workshops and microfinance initiatives, while also supporting women-owned and native-owned businesses.
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Advocate for women's rights and amplify the voices of those who are marginalized or oppressed.
Donation Drive for
San Diego Flood Relief
In the aftermath of the widely unknown yet devastating winter floods that struck San Diego in 2024, using our disaster response experience from Maui our team at Nā Wahine Toa mobilized a significant effort to aid the recovery of the affected communities. By partnering with local CBO's already engaged in on-ground relief activities, we were able to collect and distribute essential goods and services, providing immediate relief for those most impacted by this disaster.
Our fundraising efforts reflect our broader mission to empower and uphold underserved communities, especially in facing significant environmental issues.
Prior to winning her first title fight, Ilima promised she would use her platform to bring awareness to indigenous issues and assist young ladies by providing education and travel opportunities. Safety and well-being of indigenous adolescent girls is threatened more than any group in society. Statistics show that Native girls in Hawaii and the Americas are increased targets of abuse, reported missing, murdered, and increasing victims of sex-trafficking. This is in addition to a myriad of ills faced due to generational trauma, health disparities, high school drop out rates, substance abuse, and lack of healthy living environments. To date, Na Wahine Toa Foundation has awarded 25 scholarships to recipients representing First Nations and indigenous communities from Turtle Island, Central America, Panama, Jamaica, Canada and the Hawaiian Islands.
ILIMANATOR
SCHOLARSHIP
Each year, Nā Wahine Toa hosts an intergenerational and intercultural retreat for Native girls and women from around the world. This program is meant to empower women and focuses on the four pillars of the foundation where attendees intentionally practice self-defense, self-love, self-preservation and the protection of all sacred spaces including their divine feminine essence. In addition to caring for ourselves and one another, the team at Nā Wahine Toa prides itself in consciously supporting all wahine-owned and native-owned businesses, entrepreneurs and practitioners. Nā Wahine Toa has so far been able to host three successful all-women's retreats on 'Oahu island and Hawai'i island with 15 of the participants being able to attend on a full Ilimanator Scholarship.
WOMEN'S HAWAI'I RETREAT
