The Salvation Army in Hawaii

✍️ LargestCharities Editorial Team | 📅 Last updated: June 2026

The Salvation Army in Hawaii is the Hawaiian and Pacific Islands Division, headquartered on Manoa Road in Honolulu. For more than 120 years it has served the Hawaiian Islands and, beyond the state, US-affiliated Pacific islands including Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, and the Marshall Islands. When wildfires devastated Lahaina on Maui in August 2023, the division ran one of the largest local disaster responses in its history.

In Hawaii formore than 120 years
DivisionHawaiian and Pacific Islands
Division HQ2950 Manoa Rd, Honolulu, HI 96822
Phone (Division)(808) 988-2136
Western Territory EIN94-1156347
Service areaHawaii plus US-affiliated Pacific islands
Status501(c)(3) public charity, Christian church
Websitehawaii.salvationarmy.org
Need help in Hawaii? Find your nearest corps or service center through the Hawaiian and Pacific Islands Division and call before visiting. For Maui or disaster help, check disaster.salvationarmy.org.
Donate to the Salvation Army in Hawaii → Volunteer in Hawaii

What the Salvation Army does in Hawaii

The Salvation Army's year-round work in Hawaii includes emergency assistance, food programs, addiction recovery, youth programs, senior services, and emergency disaster assistance. The division also runs the Family Treatment Services program and other social services that address the islands' particular challenges, where a high cost of living squeezes working families.

Because the division covers a vast ocean area, it is often one of the few organizations able to respond across remote islands when disasters strike. Its Honolulu headquarters coordinates work throughout Hawaii and the US-affiliated Pacific.

Where the corps are in Hawaii

Oahu carries the largest concentration of services, centered on the divisional headquarters on Manoa Road in Honolulu, with corps and social-service centers across the island. The neighbor islands of Maui, Hawaii Island, and Kauai each have corps and service units that deliver local assistance.

Maui's operations took on outsized importance after the 2023 wildfires, when the Salvation Army became a steady presence in relief and recovery for Lahaina and surrounding communities.

The August 2023 Maui wildfires

In August 2023, wind-driven wildfires destroyed much of historic Lahaina on Maui, killing roughly 100 people in the deadliest US wildfire in over a century and displacing thousands. The Salvation Army mobilized immediately, providing meals, hydration, and emotional and spiritual care to survivors, evacuees, and first responders, and serving hundreds of thousands of meals in the months that followed.

As with other major disasters, the work moved from emergency feeding to long-term recovery, including financial assistance and case management for families who lost homes and livelihoods. Recovery on Maui continues, and the division remains involved.

Food assistance and the 2025 SNAP disruption

When SNAP benefits paused in November 2025 during the federal shutdown, Hawaii corps increased food distribution to help families through the gap, the same pattern seen at Salvation Army locations nationwide. Hawaii's high food costs make local pantry support especially valuable, and much of what is distributed each winter is funded by the prior year's Red Kettle campaign.

How to donate to the Salvation Army in Hawaii

Cash gifts through the Hawaiian and Pacific Islands Division site or the national site can be designated to a specific island or corps. Red Kettle dollars from late November through Christmas Eve stay in the corps where the kettle was placed.

Donated furniture, clothing, working appliances, and household goods support Family Store operations, and disaster-restricted gifts can be directed to ongoing Maui recovery. Vehicle, stock, and donor-advised-fund gifts go through the division development office in Honolulu.

How to volunteer in Hawaii

Red Kettle bell ringing from late November through Christmas Eve is the largest volunteer role; sign up at registertoring.com. Disaster volunteering has been especially active since the Maui fires, with canteen, warehouse, and emotional and spiritual care roles that require one or two training sessions before deployment.

Year-round opportunities at corps across the islands include food pantry assistance, youth programs, senior programs, and holiday distributions.

Where the money actually goes

The Salvation Army Western Territory is a California corporation (EIN 94-1156347) organized as a church, so state-level results are consolidated at the territorial level rather than reported per division. Nationally, the Salvation Army National Corporation reported roughly $5.8 billion in annual revenue across all US operations. Overhead ratios run consistently at about 14 percent, with roughly 82 cents of each dollar going to program services. Charity Navigator gives the Salvation Army four stars, and CharityWatch rates it favorably.

Compared with other Hawaii charities

For pure food access, the Hawaii Foodbank and the Maui Food Bank stretch donated dollars far through bulk purchasing and island-wide distribution networks. After the Lahaina fire, local food banks and the Salvation Army worked alongside one another and the broader relief community.

The Salvation Army's distinct strengths in Hawaii are its reach across remote islands, its disaster response capacity, and the breadth of a single corps that combines emergency assistance, food, addiction recovery, and youth and senior services. For maximum food-per-dollar, a food bank wins on math; for integrated help and long-term disaster recovery, the Salvation Army is one of the few organizations operating across the islands at that scale.

Frequently asked questions

How do I get help from the Salvation Army in Hawaii?
Find your nearest corps or service center through the Hawaiian and Pacific Islands Division at hawaii.salvationarmy.org and call before visiting. Assistance is usually scheduled; bring ID and proof of need or income where requested.
What did the Salvation Army do after the Maui wildfires?
After the August 2023 Lahaina fire, the Salvation Army provided meals, hydration, and emotional and spiritual care to survivors and first responders, served meals over the following months, and moved into long-term recovery with financial assistance and case management.
What does the Hawaiian and Pacific Islands Division cover?
Hawaii plus US-affiliated Pacific islands including Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, and the Marshall Islands, all directed from the Honolulu headquarters.
How long has the Salvation Army been in Hawaii?
More than 120 years, serving the Hawaiian Islands and the wider Pacific.
How do I donate to the Salvation Army in Hawaii?
Give online and designate a specific island or corps, drop money in a Red Kettle (it stays in that corps), or direct a restricted gift to Maui recovery. Its Western Territory EIN is 94-1156347.
How do I volunteer with the Salvation Army in Hawaii?
Ring a Red Kettle bell (registertoring.com), train for disaster roles, or help year-round with food pantries, youth and senior programs, and holiday distributions at a local corps.

Last updated June 2026. Hawaiian and Pacific Islands Division headquarters (2950 Manoa Road, Honolulu; (808) 988-2136), 120-plus-year history, and Pacific service area (Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Marshall Islands) from the division's pages. August 2023 Maui (Lahaina) wildfire toll (roughly 100 deaths, deadliest US wildfire in over a century) from official Maui County and federal reporting, with Salvation Army response from its disaster updates. Western Territory EIN 94-1156347 from GuideStar and Charity Navigator. National revenue and overhead ratios from the Salvation Army National Corporation annual report and Charity Navigator. We are not affiliated with the Salvation Army and receive no compensation for this listing. Spotted an error? [email protected]

More Hawaii and donation resources