A nonprofit of volunteer pilots is preparing to fly Christmas gifts and meals to roughly 3,000 children and teens across Hawaiʻi this December, targeting keiki who have a parent behind bars on Maui, Molokaʻi and Lānaʻi. The effort, known as the Mele Keikimaka campaign, is set to run December 8 through 24, with delivery dates depending on weather.
The campaign is being organized by Aloha Aviators, according to Maui Now, which reports the group has raised more than $30,000 in cash and in-kind donations so far but is still seeking additional support before the flights begin. Nearly 4,000 children in Hawaiʻi lose a parent to incarceration each year, per the same report, and this year's hurricanes have added hardship for families already struggling. Founder Nobi Buntin said the needs of these children are simple: “a mentor, a ride to see their mom, a reminder that they still belong.”
A Founder's Path From the Cockpit to the Cargo Hold
Buntin's own path into aviation began with adversity. She worked as a Delta Air Lines flight attendant until a 2016 injury pushed her toward pilot training, and she went on to enroll at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. Aloha Aviators itself traces back to March 2020, when flight attendants and amateur pilots began sewing face masks and flying emergency medical supplies and food across the islands as COVID-19 stalled supply chains on Oʻahu, according to the university's account.
That improvisational, disaster-response instinct carried into this summer, when Aloha Aviators organized an airlift to Molokaʻi after rising fuel costs halted barge service and left grocery shelves on the island bare, per Maui Now's reporting. Volunteer pilot Laura Ivanova flew a Cessna 172, while Pacific Flight Academy provided a Cessna 208 Caravan that carried roughly 2,000 pounds of food, school supplies and animal provisions. The Caravan landed on Molokaʻi at 9 p.m., and a ground crew unloaded it in the dark, the outlet reported.
Why Hawaiʻi's Children Carry This Burden Alone
Hawaiʻi has never set aside dedicated state funding for children affected by parental incarceration, and a federal program that once supported them ended years ago, according to Maui Now. That gap tracks with a state legislative task force report, which found that although Hawaiʻi passed legislation in 2007 to track children of incarcerated parents, dedicated funding for specialized social services and family reunification support has consistently been absent, per the Hawaii Department of Human Services.
Research cited by the group holds that the loss of a parent to incarceration can affect a child as heavily as a parent's death or divorce. That lines up with public health findings published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which classify parental incarceration as an Adverse Childhood Experience that substantially raises a child's risk of long-term emotional distress and health problems. The Office of Hawaiian Affairs has separately reported that Native Hawaiians are disproportionately represented across the state's correctional system, meaning the trauma of parental incarceration falls heavily on Native Hawaiian families and keiki.
Geography compounds the problem in a state spread across islands. Urban Institute research has found that incarcerated mothers are held an average of 160 miles from their children and fathers an average of 100 miles, creating steep barriers to regular family visits. Hawaiʻi's correctional system is also costly to maintain: state data from 2026 puts the price of housing an adult inmate at roughly $112,000 a year, or more than $300 a day, among the highest rates in the nation. The Hawaii Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation completed a $63 million expansion of the Women's Community Correctional Center on Oʻahu in September 2024, adding 176 beds and upgraded visitation facilities in its largest capital project to date.
Student Pilots Get Hands-On Mentorship Mid-Flight
The volunteer roster includes current students or graduates of university aviation programs at the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo, San José State University and the University of Denver, Maui Now reports. The lead UH Hilo aviation graduate volunteer now flies as a captain for Kamaka Air in Honolulu. Student mentees will fly alongside the volunteer pilots, performing weight-and-balance calculations, weather checks, go/no-go decisions, air traffic control communication, and arranging fuel and landing fees with local operators.
The mentorship model offers students hands-on experience during humanitarian flights. Aloha Aviators is partnering with Pacific Flight Academy and the Professional Asian Pilots Association, both of which took part in the summer airlift to Molokaʻi, according to the same report.
Mainland Volunteers and a Familiar Santa Join the Effort
Mainland volunteers will travel to Honolulu to sort and load gifts, with Southwest Airlines supporting their travel, per Maui Now's account. On the ground, Santa Dan will help load cargo at Daniel K. Inouye International Airport and see off planes departing for the neighbor islands. Kelma Lee Namakaeha will identify children in need on each island, and gifts will be sorted by island and child before ground crews carry them from each airfield to a child's door.
Aloha Aviators held its first holiday campaign in 2020, raising more than $10,000 in gifts, services and cash and serving more than 500 foster children and homeless teens. This year's goal is set at six times as many children. “We have the pilots, we have the planes, and we have Santa Dan ready to send us off,” Buntin said.
The nonprofit, a registered 501(c)(3), is accepting monetary donations, gifts, supplies and volunteers ahead of the December flights. Volunteers can reach Kelma at 808-336-1585. Beyond the holiday campaign, Aloha Aviators pilots fly humanitarian missions across the United States and Mexico throughout the year, delivering supplies to underserved communities, kūpuna and animal rescues.
