About our collective
Kākou for Keiki (K4K) is a community collaborative that connects the ‘ohana of Maui County’s youngest keiki to trustworthy, locally-rooted programs and services.
Our mission
To create an accessible, inclusive, and racially equitable early childhood system in Maui County that promotes healthy and resilient keiki ages birth to five so that all families can thrive.
Our Vision
By fostering relationships and building trust between cross-sector partners and the families they serve in its work, K4K promotes an inclusive, abundance mindset that openly shares information and resources throughout the early childhood network to achieve greater outcomes together. K4K recognizes there is no “one-size-fits-all” approach to meeting the needs of Maui County families, in acknowledgment of and respect for the rich diversity within our communities.
kākou for keiki
Our origins
Kākou for Keiki was born in 2016 as a community-based component of the statewide Early Childhood Comprehensive System (ECCS) initiative administered by the Family Health Services Division of the Hawai‘i State Department of Health.
This community collaborative was formed to promote cross-sector cooperative thinking to best capture the variety of perspectives necessary to enact systems change. Originally named CoMMIT for Keiki in honor of the County of Maui Multi-Impact Team (CoMMIT) that was initially called to this work, the name of this collaborative evolved to Kākou for Keiki (K4K) as of 2021, in the spirit of gathering everyone in the Maui County community to contribute to our collective wellbeing by supporting the health and resilience of our youngest keiki.
community-led
Our Structure
K4K is a collaborative made up of family advocates, service providers, medical professionals, government officials, and community members.
K4K is governed by a Sustainability Team that reflects the broad spectrum of people and organizations that influence service delivery in Maui County. Our collective is funded by public and private institutions, and through the in-kind support of its partners; Maui Family Support Services, Inc. serves as its fiscal sponsor.
While K4K applies for stand-alone grants, and also welcomes the opportunity to partner with agencies and nonprofits interested in combining and aligning resources to achieve greater outcomes for Maui County’s youngest keiki together.
OUR APPROACH
I ola ʻoe, i ola mākou nei
“When you thrive, we thrive"
It reminds us that people, community, and ʻāina are all interconnected and reflective of one another. A true kākou mentality where every being is included.
K4K Principles Agreement
A living document of how our collaborative drives its collective impact efforts.
kākou means everyone
By building pilina with everyone involved, including ‘ohana, K4K can achieve greater outcomes together.
In the video “What Does Kākou Mean To You?”, Sabra Kauka defines kākou in a way that resonates with us.
