Founder’s Day 2023

Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop was a woman of intelligence, compassion and foresight who understood that her kuleana as a Hawaiian ali‘i was to serve her people.

When Pauahi was born, the Native Hawaiian population numbered about 124,000. When she wrote her will in 1883, only 44,000 Hawaiians remained. Pauahi witnessed the rapid decline of the Hawaiian population. With that decline came a loss of Hawaiian language, culture and traditions. She believed education would offer her people hope and a future, so she left her estate — about nine percent of the total acreage of the Hawaiian kingdom — to found Kamehameha Schools.

Pauahi’s endowment supports Kamehameha Schools, which has grown into a statewide educational system serving thousands of learners annually at 30 preschool sites; K-12 campuses on Hawai‘i, Maui and O‘ahu; and through a broad range of community outreach programs.

Learn more about Pauahi.