Why Giving Back to Hawaiʻi Isn’t Optional
An entrepreneur shares how Hawaiʻi’s culture of ʻohana, mālama ʻāina, and community responsibility shaped the mission of Oahu Dispensary and Provisions and inspired a deep commitment to giving back
When I moved here a few years ago, I didn’t just change my address; I embarked on arguably one of the most profound personal journeys of my life. I arrived with a Detroit work ethic and a head full of ideas, but Hawaiʻi gave me something far more valuable: a new understanding of community which strengthend my insatiable desire to provide for the people and environment around me. It’s a lesson that has become the absolute core of my business and my life.
In Michigan, community is about neighborhood block parties and supporting the local high school team— that sort of thing. It’s strong, it’s real, but it’s different. Here in Hawaii, the connection runs much deeper. It’s in the ‘āina (the land), the kai (the sea), and the people. It’s in the way people treat each other not as strangers, but as extended family. That spirit of ‘ohana and the principle of mālama—to care for—resonated with me instantly. I already knew that to do business here, I couldn’t just set up and operate like the disgraced pineapple giants. I had to become a part of that cycle of giving and providing; something that has been a core business and life value for the entirety of my existence.
This wasn’t an abstract concept. We’ve put it into action from the very beginning. Beyond the hundreds of times we’ve fed the homeless in our community— on the streets, in the alleys, under overpasses, outside shelters, while learning names and hearing stories from people society too often renders invisible—we’ve made it a point to directly support the organizations that protect the very beauty that makes these islands so special.
Aside from feeding the homeless my company, Oahu Dispensary and Provisions, also supports groups like Sustainable Coastlines Hawaiʻi, Plant A Tree Hawaii, and The Last Prisoner Project, whose tireless work cleaning our beaches, planting trees, and freeing non violent cannabis prisoners, improves the island in many ways for generations to come. Our contributions aren’t symbolic gestures—they represent a commitment to maintaining the natural spaces that define this place. When I walk to Waikiki Beach in the early mornings and see it clean, I know our support played a small part in that. Our contributions to these vital missions that help restore the native forests, beaches, and community. Every native tree planted is a reclamation of what was lost, a small act of restoration that honors the ecological heritage of these islands. Every beach cleaning is an opportunity to enhance and maintain the beauty of this island. These aren’t just line items on a charitable budget, they are investments in the future of our home. The receipts we keep aren’t for show—they’re a reminder of our promise to be stewards of the land, not just occupants.
Running a business in Hawaiʻi is a privilege that comes with immense responsibility. The trust our customers place in us every day at our kiosks is the same trust we must earn from the community at large. When this place welcomed me—an outsider with no family ties, no decades-long reputation, no roots here—it was an act of faith. That faith wasn’t conditional on my success. It was given freely, generously, before I’d proven anything. Honoring that trust means showing up, consistently, when it matters. It means recognizing that working in this community creates an obligation to put just as much if not more value back in. Not someday when we’re “successful enough,” but now, immediately, as an integral and non-optional part of how we operate.
We are committed to being more than just a retailer on a street corner. We are committed to being a positive force, a reliable neighbor, and a dedicated partner in the work of keeping Hawaiʻi, Hawaiʻi. That commitment doesn’t waver when regulations tighten or challenges mount. If anything, those moments make it more important to remember what really matters: the people, the land, and the culture that make this place worth fighting for.
Hawaiʻi and its people welcomed me with open arms. Giving back—through meals for those in need, through cleanups, through planting trees, and supporting the release of non violent offenders—are some of the best ways I know how to give back. It’s a debt of gratitude, and it’s one I will spend a lifetime working to repay. When you’re given as much as I’ve been given here, the only path forward is gratitude expressed through action.
Lance Alyas
Oahu Dispensary and Provisions
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