Cultural Institute of America-Project Hawaii

Our mission is to enhance the lives of homeless children while allowing teens to learn leadership and mentoring qualities.

We believe by allowing the teens to take on real world issues and work hands on with the homeless children they will be able to help make a difference in the world around them. Building self-esteem and creating healthier life skills is one of our main goals of the camp. Teens are able to earn community service while changing the lives of the camp buddies. We believe that all the children have the opportunity to be our future leaders.

Our camp was created in 2006 and won several awards for teen mentoring, children literacy and team building skills. Since then our camp has been able to modify and grow with the needs of our teens and little one's alike. Working partnerships between the University of Hawai'i and the Work Development force allows our programs to expand and help end the cycle of poverty.
Our camp focuses on providing educational experiences to the children that will expand their minds and potential in life. Our Adventures Abound Day camp allows the little children to visit and learn about the wonders of the islands otherwise not available to them due to their financial state. The teens help guide them through these activities and as a result learn to mentor while learning about the culture of Hawai'i as well. The sleepover camp session allows the teens the opportunity to help their camp buddies practice healthy life skills and build self-esteem. The teens immerse themselves in the Hawaiian culture as they prepare to present their own Authentic Lu'au for the graduation ceremony.

This tour provides so much enrichment to lives of the teens who are involved:
Surfing Lessons, Volcano Hiking, Island Hopping, Mentoring, Leadership workshops, Beach Exploration, Cultural Learning, Tutoring, Working Hands on with Homeless children, Gaining 200 community service hours, swimming with dolphins, tropical jungle tours, and so much more.

Project Hawai'i Summer Camp is a 3 fold opportunity. The cultural experiences are unmatched and directed by native Hawaiians. Teens wil learn the language, the art of hula and even learn the traditional ways to prepare lua lau. The adventures include eco tours, surfing, hiking, swimming, beach exploration, island hopping, shopping and volcano cave hiking. The teen mentoring program is designed to allow teens the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of homeless children during the summer camp activtiies.

This program is tax deductible and while is meant to be a full 4 week program it is split into two sessions to allow for time restraints on the teens. There are 2 two week sessions.