$121,611 raised so far. $28,389 to go!!!
Halau i Ka Pono and The Zen Life & Meditation Center, Chicago are on the verge of an exciting breakthrough - a new permanent home! We have raised over $121,000 in donations and pledges in three and a half weeks towards our $150,000 downpayment for a loan to purchase 46 Lake Street in Oak Park!!!
Our Launch Party was inspiring! We held Sunday Morning Zen in the new space, people meditated together and enjoyed a dharma talk. There was heartwarming Hawaiian Hula chants and dances by Halau i Ka Pono dancers aged 6 years old to 87. People brought their favorite potluck and delicious food abounded. The backyard was a delight to sit in and relax.
The excitement of imagining ourselves in this beautiful space and garden was palpable. Check out this brief slide show of photos from that day.
We have $28,389 left to raise by September 14th! Any amount you give will be a blessing. If youʻve given already mahalo nui loa (huge thank you)! If you can give again - big hugs!!! Please help us cross the finish line with a gift today.
Hereʻs to a dharma and hula jewel that will give back for generations to come!
Make a Gift Today - It Makes a Difference!
Halau i Ka Pono is a bonafide program of the Zen Life & Meditation Center is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Your contribution is fully tax deductible.
Three Testimonials
Watching our girls dance hula touches my heart in the deepest way. Connecting them to the history and culture of Hawai’i and seeing them spread Aloha to others, is the very heart of the Aloha spirit. Love and light in uncertain times gives us the energy to move forward and pursue goodness in the world.
Halau i Ka Pono and the Zen Life & Meditation Center are seeking to expand their offerings and community in the coming months. Please consider a donation - great or small - to help make this effort possible.
- Nicole Sumida, Oak Park, IL
If you are called, please make a donation to this worthy endeavor. I consider June Tanoue a very special friend and teacher. Words do not capture the feelings I have for her, her work & community. Every little bit helps. Thank you!
- Dionysio Guerrero, NYC
Friends! As you may know, I started taking hula classes in Oak Park soon after I moved to Chicago (January 2013) - looking for something to do, a way to meet people and pretend there wasn’t a polar vortex happening. I’m not sure what I expected to get from it, but I can tell you I’ve gotten so much more than I could have ever dreamed.
The Zen Life & Meditation Center has housed our classes since the beginning (it helps that our Kumu June Tanoue also is a founder of The center!) - well they’re bursting at the seams in their current ‘home’ but as fate would have it...the most perfect space has become available four doors down from the current space!
The fundraising for the downpayment of the most-perfect-space-imaginable is already underway and weʻre 80% there! Please consider making a donation to this incredible place. I’ll never be able to measure the amount of knowledge and wisdom I’ve gained from being a part of Halau i Ka Pono but let me tell you this - it’s a great cause!
- Moira Bryan, Chicago