Skip to content
COVID-19
Join Today
Dashboard
Info Hub

RAM Members Give Back, Year After Year

By Sarah Ruppenthal

For more than two decades, Bob, Donna, and Clint Hansen of Maui Luxury Real Estate LLC have brought Christmas joy to kids who need it most by holding an annual toy drive for the Friends of the Children’s Justice Center of Maui.

If you ask them how many gifts they’ve collected over the years, they can only shrug. They haven’t kept track of the total number, but it’s easily in the thousands. 

“We believe in giving back,” Donna explained. “Just taking from a community is not the way our family lives. All of our boys were taught that they were fortunate to have food on the table, clothes to wear, and a home to live in. There are so many children who don’t have those luxuries here… we hope to give at least a few the hope that there are people out there who care about them.”

Every year, the Hansens stockpile toys, gift cards, and cash donations in the months leading up to the holiday season. The toy drive kicks into high gear in mid-November and culminates with a private party in early December.

This year’s toy drive is already underway and will run through Friday, Dec. 24. Donors can bring a new, unwrapped gift for a child of any age—infants, toddlers, tweens, and teens—or a gift card or check (made out to the Friends of the Children’s Justice Center of Maui) to the Hansens’ Wailea office or any Bank of Hawaii branch on Maui. The Hansens are also offering a donation pick-up service. All of the gifts will be distributed to children on Maui, Molokai and Lanai. 

Hawaii’s Children’s Justice Centers are programs of the Hawaii State Judiciary and were established by the state legislature in 1986 to ensure a fair and neutral process for the handling of reports of child abuse. Each center is designed to make children feel safe and comfortable while being interviewed about reports of abuse and as witnesses to crimes. On average, the state’s Children’s Justice Centers see approximately 1,000 children every year and many of them arrive with no more than the clothes on their backs.

Kahiau Hansen Toy Drive

Realtors Association of Maui members (from left) Clint, Donna, and Bob Hansen, pictured here with (from left) Trinity and Victoria Hansen, are bringing holiday cheer to kids who need it most. Every year, the family collects Christmas gifts for the Friends of the Children’s Justice Center of Maui, a nonprofit that helps children recover from the damaging effects of abuse and neglect. 

Photo courtesy Donna Hansen

That’s where organizations like the Friends of the Children’s Justice Center of Maui step in to help. It provides funding for direct services to help children recover from the damaging effects of their abuse and works with community partners to fulfill their needs. Additionally, every holiday season, the nonprofit collects and distributes toys to kids of all ages throughout Maui County. For many of these children, it may be the only gift they will receive. 

“For the last 22 years, the Hansen ‘Ohana has continued to play a key role in bringing in a vast majority of our donations of gifts for our keiki,” said Paul Tonnessen, executive director of the Friends of the Children’s Justice Center of Maui. “Their initial vision of ensuring every child who has faced trauma from abuse in Maui County would have a brighter holiday has enhanced and enriched the lives of tens of thousands of our keiki. We greatly appreciate their empathy and compassion in continuing to play such a crucial role in their healing process. They have and continue to show all of us the true meaning of giving.”

The Hansens encourage others to consider supporting the Friends of the Children’s Justice Center of Maui this holiday season or anytime of the year. “You will make a difference in children’s lives,” Donna said. “And you will let them know that someone cares.”

The Hansens’ office is located at 161 Wailea Ike Pl., #106, in the Wailea Town Center next to Matteo’s Osteria. For more information or to schedule a donation pick-up, call (808) 874-8473. To learn more about the Friends of the Children’s Justice Center of Maui or to inquire about donor opportunities, visit www.mauicjc.org or call (808) 986-8634.

Scroll To Top