Caroline Hayashi, the new executive director of the Waikiki Community Center, is taking over the helm just in time to see water experts and spectators at Sunday’s 28th annual Duke Kahana­moku Challenge bring in the bounty for the nonprofit’s annual signature sports fundraising event.

The challenge, which takes place at the Duke Kahanamoku Beach and Lagoon in Waikiki, features canoe racing and Hawaiian makahiki games. Funds raised from the event, which dates back to 1985, will enable the center to provide tuition assistance for infant care and early education, canned foods for more than 800 families, social services that support nearly 1,000 senior adults, and a place for visitors, workers and residents to participate in community affairs, socialize and learn together.

"We expect the event to bring in about $45,000 for the center," said Hayashi, who started work at the center on Jan. 2. "It’s a really great opportunity to host a community building event and better leverage the center. It’s also good preparation for our main fundraiser, a gala honoring the center and the Na Mea Makamae o Waikiki – Treasures of Waikiki in September." 

The center, like most non-profits in Hawaii, still is coming back from the economic downturn, which peaked in 2009 and 2010, she said.

"There is more demand for services, but we can’t meet it. We’ve had to cut back, depending on the program, an average of about 25 to 35 percent," Hayashi said. "That’s the paradox of most nonprofits. When you go through a downturn, you see less in income, but you have more clients." 

The center has cut the availability of its emergency food pantry to one day a week from three days a week, reduced the amount of tuition assistance to families with preschool-age children and closed its administrative offices and senior programs on Thursdays, she said. Even so, the center provides roughly 170,000 hours of community programs and services to about 21,000 people annually. Its partners, the Waikiki Health Center, Coalition for a Drug Free Hawaii, UH Sea Grant College Program and United Self Help, also help to meet community needs.

While the upcoming challenge represents only a fraction of the funds needed to fulfill the center’s mission, it provides an opportunity to bridge the gap, Hayashi said.

"Even though the economy is getting better, it’s not necessarily felt at the bottom," she said.

The good news is that the challenge and support for it are growing, said Jeff Apaka, WCC director of community relations.

"We’re adding a stand-up paddle-boarding category this year and we’ve had more interest from teams," Apaka said. "Ihilani Hotel, Waikiki Beach Walk, Ilikai Bar & Grill, Armstrong Produce, Dwight Burdick Construction and Turtle Bay are entering for the first time. We’re hoping for a good crowd on Sunday. We’re taking donations, selling T-shirts and soliciting memberships."

Hilton is the sponsor of the annual Duke Kahana­moku Challenge, said Jon Conching, vice president of Hilton Hawaii and this year’s event chair.

"The Waikiki Community Center has a critical mission and the funds raised from the Challenge will help support the thousands of individuals and families that benefit its services every year," Conching said.

Cristie Bryant, a single mother without family close by, said she depends on the center to provide affordable care for her 3-year-old son Isaiah.

"Without the center, I might not be able to afford to stay in Hawaii," said Bryant, who lives walking distance from the center. "I’ve always needed to work so I depend very much on the center. I really appreciate how they care for my child. They are like a family for us."

The 35-year-old center also is a hit with seniors like Olive Lum and Connee Little, who became friends taking classes there.

Lum, 82, said she’s been a center regular since retiring from a job at Hawaiian Life Insurance in 1996. She takes the bus from Makiki to the center three days a week so that she can take art and ukulele classes, hang out with friends and volunteer.

"The center’s very important," Lum said. "It’s a way to keep busy and make friends. You know if you sit and do nothing the brain goes."

Little, a Vancouver native who winters in Hawaii each year, said the center is her place of refuge.

"There’s an awful lot of ohana here and a lot of love," she said. "I’ve made friends with people from all over the world."

Hayashi said the chance to make a difference in the lives of clients like Bryant, Lum and Little was her motivation for taking a leadership role at the center. A Punahou School graduate who was raised in Manoa, Hayashi spent most of her career at nonprofits in Washington, D.C., and Boston before returning to Hawaii. She last served as chief operating officer of the Girl Scouts of Hawaii.

"The Waikiki Community Center was an opportunity to return to management of a community-based organization," she said. "I like to work in nonprofits where you can make an impact on communities and you are close enough to see the results."

For more information about the Duke Kahana­moku Challenge or the Waikiki Community Center, call 923-1802 or go to www.waikikicommunity­center.org.