The Compass Foundation

THE ORGANIZATION WAS ORIGINALLY NAMED CHARITABLE CANCER AND MEDICAL CLINICS OF AMERICA, INC. AND WAS FOUNDED BY DR HENRY TAI. WITH THE DEMISE OF DR. TAI, THE ORGANIZATION CHANGED ITS CHARITABLE FOCUS FROM CANCER TREATMENT OF INDIGENT PATIENTS TO FOCUS ON MEETING THE NEEDS OF SCHOOLS AND SCHOOL CHILDREN IN THE LOCAL COMMUNITY THROUGH SEVERAL PROGRAM INITIATIVES. THE ORGANIZATION RECENTLY CHANGED ITS NAME AND FOCUS TO BECOME THE COMPASS FOUNDATION; THE ORGANIZATION IS WORKING ON DIVERSIFYING THE ECONOMY AND CREATING A STRONGER WORKFORCE IN THE MEDIA AND ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY HERE ON THE ISLANDS. WITH MISSION-ALIGNED PARTNERSHIPS & NEWLY DEVELOPED FUNDED PROGRAMS, WE UNDERSTAND THE IMMEDIATE NEED TO EDUCATE AND TRAIN DISPLACED WORKERS CAUSED BY THE PANDEMIC. OUR GOAL IS TO CREATE VALUABLE REAL-WORLD EXPERIENCES THAT ALLOW OUR DISPLACED TALENT TO STAY IN HAWAII. BUILDING A BETTER CREATIVE SECTOR IN RESILIENT ECONOMY FOR GENERATIONS TO COME.

THE ORGANIZATION CONTINUES ITS EFFORTS TO INCREASE DONOR AWARENESS AND SPONSORSHIP INCOME AND TO INCREASE AWARENESS AND PARTICIPATION AMONGST PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHERS IN THE "SUPPORT MY CLASS PROGRAM." DURING THE YEAR IN 2019, HAWAII CHILDRENS FOUNDATION CONTINUED TO PARTNER WITH THE HAWAII STATE TEACHER ASSOCIATION AND SUPPORT MY CLASS ORGANIZATION TO CREATE AND EXECUTE A NEW PROJECT CALLED THE NISHINA TEACHER INTERNSHIP PROGRAM TO PROVIDE TEACHERS WITH TOOLS THAT WILL HELP CULTIVATE ESSENTIAL SKILLS STUDENTS WILL NEED TO BE SUCCESSFUL IN COLLEGE, THE WORKPLACE AND AS GOOD CITIZENS. TEACHERS ARE EXPOSED TO VARIOUS INDUSTRIES WITH A HANDS-ON EXPERIENCE FROM THE MAILROOM TO THE BOARDROOM. THE OBJECTIVES ARE TO FAMILIARISE TEACHERS WITH LOCAL WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT CHALLENGES, SO THAT THEY CAN DEVELOP LESSONS THAT PROMOTE 21ST CENTURY COMPETENCIES AND FOSTER STRONG RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN THE EDUCATION AND BUSINESS COMMUNITIES IN HAWAII. EVERYONE CAN WORK TOGETHER TO PROMOTE STUDENT SUCCESS. THE ORGANIZATION RECENTLY CHANGED ITS NAME AND FOCUS TO BECOME THE COMPASS FOUNDATION; THE COMPASS FOUNDATION LAUNCHED AN EDUCATIONAL, HAWAII-SHOWCASE PROJECT IN FEBRUARY 2021, "THE HAWAII TALENT & PRODUCTION TRAINING PROGRAM" (HTPTP). THIS PROGRAM'S GOAL IS TO IDENTIFY DISPLACED WORKERS, TRAIN THEM IN A VARIETY OF CREATIVE SERVICES AND ALLOW THEM TO GAIN EXPERIENCES IN THE INDUSTRY SO THEY CAN USE THEIR NEW SKILL SETS FOR FUTURE ENDEAVORS. OUR BUSINESS MODEL ALIGNS WITH MANY HAWAII FOUNDATIONS' OBJECTIVES TO SUPPORT THE LOCAL COMMUNITY AND ECONOMY, AND TO EMPHASIZE CULTURALLY RELEVANT PROJECTS. HTPTP, THROUGH THE COMPASS FOUNDATION, HAS EMPLOYED MORE THAN 70 PEOPLE, 60 OF THESE HAVING BEEN DISPLACED WORKERS. HTPTP TRAINS DISPLACED WORKERS IN ALL THE DIFFERENT ASPECTS OF MEDIA PRODUCTION WHETHER THAT IS BEHIND OR IN FRONT OF THE CAMERA. ON-AIR TALENT DEVELOP THEIR PUBLIC SPEAKING ABILITIES AND LEARN HOW TO ENTERTAIN A VARIETY OF AUDIENCES, WHICH CAN TRANSLATE OVER TO MANY DIFFERENT ASPECTS OF THEIR EVERYDAY LIVES. FILMING, PRODUCING, AND MARKETING A VARIETY OF CONTENT WHETHER THAT IS FILM, SHOWS, OR PODCASTS REQUIRE A MANY NUMBER OF SKILLS AND RESPONSIBILITIES ALL THAT FALL UNDER THIS TRAINING PROGRAM. THE REAL TIME EXPERIENCES, LESSONS, AND SKILLS TRAINING DEVELOPMENT IS TRANSFERRABLE, CREATING NEW SKILL SETS THAT CAN BE USED FOR FUTURE ENDEAVORS. THIS PROGRAM HAS BEEN VERY SUCCESSFUL AMID THE PANDEMIC AND HAS FLOURISHED. A TESTAMENT TO THIS IS WIKIO CAST, OUR PARTNER PRODUCTION COMPANY THAT HAS CREATED EDUCATIONAL AND ENTERTAINING CONTENT THAT NOT ONLY ENGAGES THE LOCAL AUDIENCE BUT ALSO PROMOTES HAWAII AS A DESTINATION INTERNATIONALLY. EMPLOYING WORKERS FROM HTPTP, WIKIO CAST HAS UTILIZED THEIR NEWFOUND SKILLS TO CAPTIVATE A GROWING AUDIENCE ON A LOCAL AND NATIONAL LEVEL THROUGH TELEVISION AND PODCASTS. THIS JOINT EFFORT HAS PRODUCED 7 SHOWS AND 15 SEASONS IN JUST THE FIRST YEAR THE CURRENT LINEUP OF SHOWS IS "IT'S A HAWAII THING," "CULTURISED," "WINE &", "RUNNIN' IT BACK," "WHERE HAWAII EATS," "THE ART OF BEER,- AND "HAWAII EXTREME FITNESS." THESE TV SHOWS / PODCASTS ARE DISTRIBUTED ON BROADCAST AND CABLE TV, YOUTUBE, APPLE, GOOGLE PLAY, AND SPOTIFY. THE COMPASS FOUNDATION IS IN PARTNERSHIP WITH WIKIO CAST AND HAWAII'S LARGEST MEDIA COMPANY, OAHU PUBLICATIONS INC., HOME TO THE HONOLULU STAR- ADVERTISER, MIDWEEK, DIGITAL BILLBOARD NETWORK AND HAWAII.COM TO NAME A FEW. THIS PARTNERSHIP ALLOWS US TO REACH THE MASSES WHEN PROMOTING THE SHOWS STATE-WIDE AND ON THE NATIONAL LEVEL THROUGH THEIR SISTER COMPANY BLACK PRESS LOCATED IN WASHINGTON STATE, CALIFORNIA, AND WESTERN CANADA. THIS MULTI-MEDIA PROMOTION FOR OUR SHOWS HAS ALLOWED US TO REACH AN AVERAGE OF 55,000+ HOUSEHOLDS PER WEEK ON TV AND 4,000+ VIEWERS ON YOUTUBE PER EPISODE. THIS PARTNERSHIP OF CREATIVE SECTOR KNOWLEDGE LEADERS COMING TOGETHER TO ADVANCE THE WORKFORCE IN HAWAII HAS PRODUCED HIGH QUALITY CONTENT MAKING A GROWING IMPACT ON THE LOCAL CREATIVE INDUSTRY. HTPTP'S GOAL IS TO ELEVATE HAWAII'S PRODUCTION AND CREATIVE INDUSTRY ATTRACTING BIGGER HOLLYWOOD FILMS AND SHOWS TO THE ISLANDS, THUS CREATING MORE JOB OPPORTUNITIES FOR LOCALS.