Previous Beneficiaries
In addition to providing valuable education for local cacao farmers, the Big Island Chocolate Festival is a fundraiser for local non-profit organizations. In 2018, we donated $27,000 to five organizations and for 2019 and each year new beneficiaries are chosen to represent Hawaii’s communities:
• American Culinary Federation, Kona Kohala Chefs Association (http://www.konakohalachefs.org/) (www.konakohalachefs.org): The ACF Kona Kohala Chefs Association members are industry leaders committed to culinary enrichments through professional development and education in our community. There are more than 50 chapter members, plus a College Junior Chef Chapter and a High School Junior Chef Chapter. The group includes food service professionals, vendors and growers. The ACF Kona Kohala Chefs Association is a part of the American Culinary Federation.
• Hawaii Institute of Pacific Agriculture (HIP Ag) (www.hipagriculture.org): The mission of HIP Ag is to practice and teach ecologically conscious agriculture, empowering individuals and communities to cultivate alternative systems of living that restore human and environmental health. HIP Agriculture is a growing community that cultivates a diverse collection of Polynesian crops and operates as an educational site offering sustainable agriculture courses, youth programming, community workshops and events.
• Kona Dance & Performing Arts (www.konadanceandperformingarts.org): Kona Dance & Performing Arts strives to provide high quality instruction and education in dance and performing arts to the local youth and the Big Island community. Classes range from ballet to Hip-Hop, and feature adult dance classes as well.
• UH Maui College / Culinary Arts Program (http://maui.hawaii.edu/culinary/): The University of Hawai‘i Maui College inspires students to develop knowledge and skills in pursuit of academic, career, and personal goals in a supportive educational environment that emphasizes community engagement, life long learning, sustainable living, Native Hawaiian culture, and global understanding. Our charge is to prepare our students for success in life and career by providing them the foundational skills of our profession. We hope to inspire our students to celebrate the diversity of food and cultures throughout the world and elevate their knowledge and appreciation of culinary arts.
• Waimea Country School (waimeacountryschool.org): Waimea Country School sustains a developmentally appropriate teaching and learning environment in which the individual student is nurtured and supported to become an independent thinker, self-disciplined and self-reliant, yet always aware of the needs of others and the common good. Both playful and serious, the School’s program encourages each child’s creativity and resourcefulness, guided by skillful and dedicated teachers, enhanced by small class size.