YWCA of Hawaii Island is ‘Building a Bright Future’ with capital campaign

November 2024 By Stephanie Salmons

YWCA of Hawaii Island is “Building a Bright Future,” recently launching a $21 million capital campaign in an effort to transform its 1.4-acre campus in Downtown Hilo.

The nonprofit said, the “Building a Bright Future for our Keiki, Families & Community” campaign aims to “enhance and consolidate YWCA’s three core programs — YWCA Preschool, Healthy Families and Sexual Assault Support Services — onto its fully-owned campus at 145 Ululani St.”

Plans call for a new preschool, a “reimagined” multipurpose building and a 10-unit housing complex “for the community’s most vulnerable women and families,” the nonprofit noted.

Set to be funded and built in three phases, the first phase is the $6 million YWCA Preschool project, which will replace the current structure built in 1926 and repurpose unused acreage from a former swimming complex, according to YWCA.

A representative for the organization told Pacific Business News in an email late last month that the preschool project includes four classroom buildings, each with a capacity for one to three classrooms; a commercial kitchen building; and two restroom buildings.

According to the representative, the classroom area will total 5,217 square feet, with the playground area totaling 7,800 square feet, and there will be 47 parking stalls.

Fleming & Associates is the project architect and YWCA is accepting bids for the builder, the representative said, noting that groundbreaking is scheduled for spring 2025. Approximately $2.71 million was raised as of Sept. 26, with nearly $3.29 million still needed as of that date.

The preschool is at capacity with 90 students and a full waitlist, the announcement said, but the new campus will allow the not-for-profit organization to expand enrollment to 130 children.

“There’s a special excitement around this initial phase of the campaign, and not just because it’s kicking off a once-in-a-century capital improvement project in Downtown Hilo,” YWCA of Hawaii Island CEO Kathleen McGilvray said in a statement. “We’re starting with the construction of a new preschool that will allow us to expand our capacity by 45% — literally building a brighter future for hundreds of local working families and their keiki.”

The preschool project is expected to be complete in summer 2026, the nonprofit said.

More information about the campaign and how to donate can be found online here.