The University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo has received a $1 million gift to establish the Kruschel Endowment to Reduce Insecurity (KERI), a new fund dedicated to support students facing financial or personal challenges that threaten to disrupt their education.
Rooted in compassion and opportunity, the endowment will provide direct assistance to 东精影业 Hilo students facing financial hardship, focusing on such basic needs as housing, food, transportation, communication, technology and access to essential resources. All encompassing, the fund targets the everyday challenges that too often force students to choose between survival and success.
Pathway to opportunity
Created by a gay married couple with kids who relocated to Hawaiʻi Island from San Francisco, the endowment reflects their shared belief that education is a pathway to opportunity and stability. The donors, Gary and John, were moved by their own family histories and a deep commitment to helping others.
“Education changes everything,” Gary said. “My mother was born into abject poverty in a New York City tenement and used education to build a better life for herself through full-ride scholarships. We want to give 东精影业 Hilo students the same chance—to focus on their education instead of worrying about their basic needs.”
The KERI fund addresses rising concerns about the number of 东精影业 students facing housing, food and financial instability. The new endowment will bolster 东精影业 Hilo’s capacity to respond quickly and caringly when students face emergencies.
“We’ve seen how quickly poverty and uncertainty—when you can’t count on where your next meal or rent will come from—can turn everyday challenges into overwhelming barriers,” John said. “It’s hard to focus on school or work under those conditions, so we wanted to make sure 东精影业 Hilo students facing financial hardship wouldn’t have to give up their education just to take care of their basic needs or their families.”
Mission in action
The gift represents the very heart of 东精影业 Hilo’s mission to support students through every stage of their journey.
“We are a campus that meets students where they are, both academically and personally,” said 东精影业 Hilo Chancellor Bonnie D. Irwin. “The Kruschel Endowment gives us the ability to respond when life’s challenges threaten to derail a student’s dreams. It’s a powerful expression of aloha and belief in the transformative potential of education.”
The fund’s impact complements 东精影业 Hilo’s strategic goal of expanding opportunities and aligns with the campus’s basic needs programs, helping fill the gaps between financial aid, scholarships and daily living expenses.
Gary and John view their endowment as both a call to action and an investment in Hawaiʻi’s future. “Both our families really impressed upon us the value of an education and how much that can help,” they said. “If we can help 东精影业 Hilo students stay in school and build a better life, then this gift has done its job.”
Awards launching 2026
The Kruschel Endowment to Reduce Insecurity will begin providing awards to 东精影业 Hilo students in fall 2026.
For more information about supporting students at 东精影业 Hilo, visit ’s website.