When Brittany was a young child, she watched her grandmother struggle through a period of homelessness. “I was appreciative of all the organizations that helped her, so I decided to do something to help them”, said Brittany.  Determined to help others in similar positions, Brittany created Hawaii's Future Isn't Hungry, her work reaching from her home state of Hawaii, all the way to Africa. 

She started by serving three meals a day at church to 300 homeless people and helping out at local food banks. Seeing that her community had other needs as well, she started a food and recycling drive at her school, provided school supplies and Christmas gifts to disadvantaged children, and tutored students learning English as a second language. She has also extended her reach beyond Hawaii by selling lemonade to provide malaria nets in Africa and raising money for tsunami victims in Japan.

Now in high school, she has raised $542,000, collected 46,000 pounds of food, and gathered more than 400 youth volunteers to go door to door asking for fresh produce and other donations. 

As a member of her school’s Key Club, she has raised funds for tetanus medication and a pediatric trauma center, prepared care packages for children of deployed soldiers, and put together goody bags for the graduates of an alcohol abuse program.  Not stopping here, she joined the YWCA Young Women’s Network Board and helped recruit women voters, provided high school girls with leadership training, and supervised children at a day camp for eight weeks. Someday, she hopes to pursue a career in medicine or public service, and her can-do approach will surely lead her to succeed.

Last year, she started Teens Stopping Domestic Violence, which advocates against domestic violence and teaches teens and adults the early signs domestic abuse of they can prevent it. Plans are to start libraries in domestic violence shelters and to collect clothes, toiletries and other necessities for residents. Eventually, she’d like to have a branch in every state.