ʻImiloa's Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic
When ‘Imiloa temporarily closed our doors to the public, the world was already altering in unrecognizable ways. And now, as we contemplate when and how to reopen, it is clear that we are looking out on a very changed landscape, a “new normal.” We have missed seeing you and we sincerely hope that you and your ‘ohana have been able to stay healthy and whole in the midst of this unprecedented medical and financial emergency.
As you know, the center closed on March 18 in coordination with local government and University of Hawai‘i measures to ensure health and safety and to prevent the further spread of the coronavirus. This entailed painful decisions to cancel all of our daytime and evening programming (including school field trips and our spring Camp ‘Imi-Possible). We also canceled on-site facility rentals, and Sky Garden Restaurant closed as well.
As of today we have been able to continue employment for all of our staff, but we have had to reduce work schedules for several. The majority of our team members have been busy working remotely from home, while our essential groundskeeping staff have remained on site, deep-cleaning and sprucing up the center to prepare for the day we can reopen and welcome you back in person, hopefully sometime this summer. I am grateful to each of our staff members for creatively managing new demands and schedules in an uncertain environment.
If you haven’t already checked out our growing lineup of digital ‘Imiloa@Home activities, please take a look! They represent the output of an education team dispersed across the island, putting their heads together (at a distance!) to dream up new ways to keep homebound schoolchildren and families engaged in ‘Imiloa’s signature culture-based science learning. These activities are an experimental first step in what we anticipate will be one of our new models for post-pandemic program delivery.
As you might imagine, our closure immediately halted all of our normal earned revenue streams from program fees, admissions, store sales, facility rentals and restaurant revenue. The cancellation of our programs also put into jeopardy some of the eternal grant funding that we had counted on for support. We are pivoting to explore opportunities to repurpose existing grants, as well as to explore new avenues for federal, state, and local grants, including those through the CARES Act.
Throughout this uncertain time, the support of our members has been the one ongoing source of revenue for ‘Imiloa and a critical factor in continuing to fund our operations. To all of you who have recently renewed your memberships or stepped up with additional gifts, mahalo nui loa! We are profoundly grateful. Please note that once we reopen, we plan to extend all general membership expiration dates by the length of time we were closed.
Whether or not your membership is up for renewal, we hope that you will consider a tax-deductible contribution right now to help sustain ‘Imiloa through this emergency and beyond. Gifts to our unrestricted ‘Imiloa Enrichment Fund enable us to apply funds wherever the need is greatest, ensuring that we can remain resilient and emerge from this crisis with a renewed sense of purpose.
This is one of those “teachable moments” in history, and supporting science literacy—grounded in Hawai‘i’s unique culture, language and values--is more important than ever. With your continuing support, ‘Imiloa will be uniquely positioned to assist in closing the achievement gap for our local youth when school reopens and to “inspire the next generation of innovators and explorers.” Thank you for being part of our ‘ohana.
Na‘u me ke aloha,
Ka‘iu Kimura, Executive Director