Lili‘uokalani Trust partners with The Aspen Institute Project Play to build healthy communities through sports

HONOLULU, December 17, 2018 – Lili‘uokalani Trust (LT) is proud to be partnering with the Aspen Institute’s Sports & Society Program for the first-ever statewide State of Play project. State of Play reports – custom landscape analyses of how well a community is serving the health needs of youth through sport – have become a key resource for organizations that wish to build communities where all youth have the opportunity to be active through sports.

“Through the State of Play – Hawaii report, LT looks forward to deepening its understanding of the state of sports for Native Hawaiian youth across Hawaiʻi and developing high-impact strategic initiatives that will propel our kamaliʻi to lead healthy and successful futures,” said Mahina Hugo, LT director of educational innovations.

The Aspen Institute’s seminal Project Play report is the first comprehensive framework for youth sports in the US. Its core values are health and inclusion. At the report’s 2015 release, US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy commended Project Play for taking on such an ambitious effort, and challenged the initiative to take the report back to the grassroots to benefit kids and communities. Since then, in partnership with local organizations, Project Play has launched community efforts in Baltimore and Harlem and completed the nation’s first analyses of how well regions are serving the health needs of kids and communities through sport (for Southeast Michigan, Western New York, Greater Rochester and the Finger Lakes, and Mobile County, Alabama).  Aspen Institute’s State of Play reports, customized for each region, have become a key resource for groups that wish to build communities where all youth, regardless of zip code or ability, have access to sport. State of Play: Hawaiʻi is Project Play’s first statewide partnership.

To launch State of Play: Hawaiʻi, key players from the Aspen Institute team are in Honolulu to meet with the Hawaiʻi task force members who will guide the research, connect Aspen Institute’s research team with community leaders, and identify local solutions and key stakeholders that can assist in the effort to get every kid active. On site from the Aspen Institute Sports & Society Program are Executive Director Tom Farrey, Program Manager Risa Isard, and Principal Investigator for State of Play: Hawaii Hugo Kugiya.

About Liliʻuokalani Trust

Lili‘uokalani Trust was established by Hawaiʻi’s last ruling monarch, the beloved Queen Lili‘uokalani. Her Deed of Trust, executed in 1909, directs that the Queen’s lands be utilized to serve and provide for orphan and destitute children in perpetuity; core Trust assets include some 6,400 acres of land, the majority in Kona.

The vision of Liliʻuokalani Trust is e nā kamalei lupalupa, thriving Hawaiian children. LT’s mission: We believe in the resiliency of our Hawaiian children; we advocate for their wellbeing and build them pathways to thriving lives.

Contact:  Mahina Hugo, Director of Educational Innovations | Email: mhugo@onipaa.org