Give Back to the Community

The General Contractors Association of Hawaii recently raised more than $130,000 for the GCA Education Foundation.

Each year, the GCA President selects a nonprofit beneficiary for the GCA Give Back to the Community fundraising campaign. However, for 2024 and 2025, GCA’s 2025 President Russell Inouye of Koga Engineering & Construction, Inc. and 2024 President Michael Young of Albert C. Kobayashi, Inc. combined their picks and selected the GCA Education Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to strengthening Hawaii’s construction workforce through education and professional development. The GCA Education invests in initiatives and programs that connect students, educators, and industry professionals and helps create a strong pipeline of skilled, homegrown talent to meet Hawaii’s construction workforce needs.

The goal was to raise $100,000, but thanks to the generosity of the GCA membership and other donors, the GCA exceeded this goal, raising $104,300. As an extra incentive during the campaign, the two presidents pledged a 25 percent match of the total contributions. The total match from Albert C. Kobayashi, Inc. and Koga Engineering & Construction, Inc. was  $26,075, increasing the final contribution to the GCA Give Back to the Community to $130,375.

“Raising over $130,000 for this past year’s Give Back to the Community campaign shows the GCA members’ strong commitment to supporting Hawaii’s workforce development,” said Cheryl Walthall, GCA executive director. “These funds will have a lasting impact through the GCA Education Foundation’s initiatives. We are deeply grateful to all who supported last year.”

“It has been inspiring to see our industry come together in such a meaningful way. 2024 GCA President Michael Young and I wanted to lead by example, which is why Albert C. Kobayashi, Inc. and Koga Engineering & Construction, Inc. pledged to match 25 percent of all donations,” said Russell Inouye, 2025 GCA President. “Our total contribution shows the power of our collective commitment to building Hawaii’s construction workforce for the future.”