Island Ace Hardware Tailors Its Approach to Support Community

Mark Schulein had just become a local business owner when a storm dumped torrential rain on the north shore of the Hawaiian island of Kauai.

Schulein and business partner Matt Fales bought Island Ace Hardware in March in Princeville, which is located on the north side of Kauai.

The storm hit in mid-April, flooding nearby communities, washing out roads, causing landslides and displacing residents from hundreds of houses.

The National Weather Service reports that more than 3 feet of rain fell in 24 hours on some parts of the island, while other areas may received more than 4 feet of rainfall.

The store and its employees’ homes were unharmed, but rescuers used boats to help nearby residents escape from their heavily flood-damaged houses.

Schulein and his staff immediately wanted to help the local people who had to rebuild their homes and businesses.

“Hawaii is thought of as paradise—and it is, unless you are in harm’s way from flooding and volcanoes,” Schulein says.

An attempt to raise money to help residents with rebuilding efforts provided a learning opportunity for Schulein. He separately owns Crown Ace Hardware stores in California and Arizona, and he is accustomed to rapid fundraising at cash registers. Customers are asked to round up to the nearest dollar on their purchases to donate to charitable causes.

However, many of the Crown stores are located in cities with larger populations than all of Kauai. The island is part of Kauai County, which had a total population of about 72,000 in 2017, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

The fundraising tactic that worked well in cities such as San Diego didn’t have the same impact on the north shore of Kauai and its small communities.

“The same people who we were asking to round up were the people in need,” Schulein says.

To make a larger impact than the $600 the store raised at the cash register, Schulein and Fales opted to have Island Ace donate $20,000 to organizations led by locals who knew which residents needed the most help.

The business partners also chose to invest further in the area by remodeling the store. The investment reinforced their commitment to the local communities and the residents who rely on Island Ace Hardware for the home improvement products they need for rebuilding.

The 30-year-old store is known as the Pride of the North Shore for its support of and involvement in the communities it serves.

“We want to absolutely make sure, as new owners, to continue that tradition,” Schulein says.