UH Hilo Receives $1 Million Endowment to Fight Insecurity

The Kruschel Endowment to Reduce Insecurity looks to support struggling UH Hilo students

The University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo received a $1 million endowment to establish the Kruschel Endowment to Reduce Insecurity (KERI). The fund will focus on students who face financial or personal challenges that are detrimental to their education.

Married couple Gary and John are the benefactors of the $1 million gift. They aim to provide relief to students who struggle with access to basic needs such as housing, food, transportation, communication, and other vital resources.

Inspiration came from Garyʻs mother growing up through poverty and thriving afterward thanks to educaiton and full-ride scholarships. Gary and John hope to provide that same opportunity to UH Hilo students looking to build a better life.

The donors “wanted something that would truly help students who are struggling” said Margot Schrire of the UH Foundation.

Gary and John recognized the difficulty that students face while trying to simultaneously balance the hardships and uncertainties of poverty with schooling and work.

“We wanted to make sure UH Hilo students facing financial hardship wouldn’t have to give up their education just to take care of their basic needs or their families,” John stated.

More than half of University of Hawaiʻi students suffer from at least one type of severe food insecurity, and 40% of students reported that they felt hungry but did not have enough money to buy food according to a student basic needs survey in the UH System conducted in 2025.

According to the same assessment, a quarter of students stated they were housing insecure. A similar percentage experienced clothing insecurity and hygiene insecurity due to financial difficulties.

The Kruschel Endowment allows the University to “respond when life’s challenges threaten to derail a student’s dreams,” UH Hilo Chancellor Bonnie D. Irwin stated.

To students, however, the benefits go beyond the immediate impacts of being able to pay for school, books, food, and rent. “A lot of the students tell us that knowing that there are donors who are supporting their journey, knowing that there are people who believe in them and are investing in them, that drives them to keep going,” Schrire said.

For Gary and John, the goal is simple: “If we can help UH Hilo students stay in school and build a better life, then this gift has done its job,” the couple stated.

The KERI fund will begin providing awards to UH Hilo students in the Fall 2026 semester.

But the Kruschel Endowment is not alone in its endeavors. In the 2024 Fiscal Year, the UH Foundation raised more than $30 million for student aid. Initiatives like the Lunalilo Scholars Program and Waiʻaleʻale Project help students who would otherwise be unable to attend university obtain an education.

Additionally, Dec. 2 will see the beginning of UHʻs annual Giving Tuesday — a 24-hour campaign across all ten University of Hawaiʻi campuses to raise funds for students with limited access to essential resources.

Although most community memberʻs may not be able to spare $1 million, Margot Schrire from the UH Foundation expressed that “it makes a big difference” when people from all kinds of communities come together