Matson Foundation contributes funds, material goods, and services to assist in development and operation of locally focused not-for-profit, charitable and community-based organizations located where Matson has business operations. Resources are allocated by Matson’s corporate board annually.
Among Matson’s notable cash support in 2015 was a combined $175,000 for United Way chapters across its service areas, to which employees added personal donations of close to $50,000. Other key grants included $50,000 pledges each to PBS Hawaii’s New Home campaign; to the National Kidney Foundation of Hawaii’s planned service center in Kapolei; and to a five-year scholarship program supporting post-secondary scholarships in Micronesia in celebration of Matson’s 20 years of service to Guam.
On the US West Coast, Matson is fulfilling a $30,000 commitment to the International Trade Education Program and was a $10,000 donor to the Oakland Museum of California’s “Pacific Worlds” exhibition.
Besides cash donations totaling $30,000 to regional Red Cross centers, Matson provided in-kind support exceeding $300,000 in value to post-typhoon recovery efforts in Saipan, Guam and the Western Pacific, which were struck by two major storms in 2015.
Ka Ipu ‘Aina (container for the land), an environmental program Matson began in 2001, continued in 2015 with more than 100 Hawaii organizations—mostly sports and student groups—each earning $1,000 for weekend cleanups, removing trash and debris from public areas, often in partnership with the City and County of Honolulu. In Guam, a similar program, Adahi I Tano’ (caring for the land) has been serving the community since 2013.
Additional information is available at www.matson.com.