In Hawaiian culture, three tenets tie everything together, connecting the past to the present, the present to the future, and each soul to another.
Aloha is at the core of it all, a thread of love and compassion connecting all living things. From that comes 'Äina, a right and responsibility to and for the land. Then there is 'ohana, which means family.
'Ohana
"That's what this whole (thing) is about," nodded Tetairoa McMillan. "It's about family."
The Carolina Panthers' rookie receiver has only been in the league for a few months, but he's already made an impact on a team, on a locker room, on a fanbase, and on a community. Panthers' games are now painted with McMillan jerseys, as fans have quickly and fiercely connected with their hotshot receiver.
And with each No. 4 jersey that dots the stadium, the McMillan family sees their legacy grow.
"I'm really big on family," continued McMillan. "I obviously wouldn't be here without them. I try to live my life for them. I'm a product of all who came before me, so I try to give back in that way. Just be an inspiration to other people, try to be something that my family can take pride in, be a light to my family."
That pride has been evident at every game, on the sideline, in the stands, and in offering support from coast to coast. The rookie has had family present each week. They travel in from Southern California, Seattle, and even the Hawaiian Islands. None of the locations are convenient to Charlotte.
"Obviously, you can't get any more east than here in North Carolina," laughed McMillan. "So them being able to make it out this far from home, it's a blessing."
It's a blessing to him, but it's important to them. One of the youngest in his family, including siblings and cousins, McMillan can freely admit, "I was the one that got babied but also was a little rascal at the same time." But the McMillan contingent at games is less about taking care of their baby and more about showing up for the young man who carries their name to the world.
"In Hawaii, everyone takes care of each other. We're always one big family," stated Aunty Blanche McMillan, Tetairoa's grandmother.
"Tetarioa always had something special in him. He always was a sports player. He never became tired. He was so energetic. He was always a professional, something special inside of him, and I really admire him. I knew one day he would become what he is today."
So even if it means a transcontinental flight, his family will be there.
Back in Week 6, Blanche and her husband Willie made the nearly 12-hour flight, along with many of Tetairoa's aunts, uncles, and cousins, to the Queen City for their first Panthers' game. It was Willie's 75th birthday, and after his grandson scored his first NFL touchdown, the ball went back to the islands with him.
"God works in mysterious ways. It just so happened to be my grandpa's birthday that day, and his favorite team is the Cowboys. So we had to shut that down real quick," laughed the receiver, who now leads all rookie pass-catchers in the NFL.
"My whole family is in Hawaii, so I already know how far that travel is from anywhere in America, but them just being able to make a game or two or every game if possible is, it speaks volumes as for how much pride they take in me and the support system behind me."
So when it came time for McMillan to choose his first My Cause, My Cleats organization, there was really only one choice.
He chose Hui Mahi'ai 'Äina.
He chose his family's legacy.
'Äina
Blanche McMillan was the 13th of 17 kids.
"Nine sisters, eight brothers," she recited. "I always loved to be around people."
Even with a large household to care for, she saw her parents live out 'ohana even from a young age.
"When I was 6 years old, I used to watch my mom and dad; they used to take care of people down the street," recalled Blanche. "They were with no food. They're hungry. My mom and dad would bring them home, bathe them, feed them. I said one day, I'm going to become just like my parents."
And she did. At 15, a young Blanche was named coordinator of the homeless outreach program at her church. It lit a fire that is still burning.
"She inspires me in her faith," said Tetairoa of his grandmother. "She's so strong in her faith.
"She's always been the rock of our family, she's always the one that makes this thing go. Shoot. I feel like she taught me a lot about humility, hospitality, just having a big heart. Even to this day, she still surprises me with how big her heart is."
In 2020, that heart began to change the local community when she founded Hui Mahiâai âÄina. The COVID-19 pandemic had halted society worldwide, and with it, any hope of a better day. It was a sobering reality and one Blanche couldn't stomach.
"When the pandemic hit, my peopleâthey would have left my people out there to die because they refused to take care of anyone, especially homeless," remembered Blanche, the pain still evident in her voice five years later.
"So at the park, that's where the people were staying. There were no bathrooms, no showers, no nothing. I went there in two days and said, "I'm going to bring you home." I had a call from the Lord. The Lord said take them out of bondage, and I didâŠI took that, grabbed my people, and ran with them to the land. And I made sure that was well taken care of."
Between 2019 and 2024, homelessness in Hawaii rose by 36.5 percent, which is the highest across all US states. In 2024 alone, over 63,000 people experienced homelessness in Hawaii. This is largely because Hawaii has the third-highest rent rate in America. As more and more moved from the mainland into vacation homes, and tourism rose, so did the cost of living.
"A lot of people on the island say it's priced out of paradise," said Tetairoa.
"Homelessness is such a big problem in so many places, but in Hawaii specifically," explained Katrina Valcourt, the executive editor of Honolulu Magazine. "There are plenty of people who, they work, they just don't have a place to live, and especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, a lot of people just didn't have anywhere to go."
After that first trip to the beach, Blanche returned home with 14 people. They set up a tent community as an immediate answer, but construction began right away on 17 small efficiency homes. As soon as those were done, they started 25 more. Each one was built by Blanche and Willie, their family, local community members, and the future tenants themselves.
The last part is key to Hui Mahi'ai 'Äina.
"One of the things that Auntie Blanche is doing is implementing a Kuleana concept," continued Valcourt.
Kuleana is understanding and appreciating the responsibility that comes with life. It works hand in hand with 'Äina, imploring those on the island to live in such a way that takes care of the land, believing that it, in turn, will take care of them.
When Blanche began Hui Mahi'ai 'Äina, the land was considered right of entry, meaning she was in an agreement with the government that allowed her to live and work on the land while using it for specific purposes. In 2024, she finally took ownership outright. But that is in name only. The land belongs to the people.
"I brought the old Hawaiian way where everybody is a family, everybody is loved with one another, and we will always be together," preached Blanche. "We would never lose each other, so I turned that whole homeless shelter into a place of the old Hawaiian culture.
"So, the entire island of Hawaii, I am trying to bring all the homeless home to where they belong, the land. The 'Äina belongs to them."
On the 14.5 acres that make up Hui Mahi'ai 'Äina, each resident is responsible for building and maintaining the efficiency homes to start. They then work the gardens, which help supply the food everyone eats and the local food bank. They keep the land healthy and thriving, which is reciprocated in their own life.
If someone wants to move on, they can. But Blanche also wants everyone who steps onto the property to know it is their home for as long as they like. She tells each one, "I'm going to take care of you for the rest of your life, and my property is a place where you're going to live forever."
It's an idea that transformed the town of WaimÄnalo and the island of OÊ»ahu. Blanche hopes one day it will change the world.
"To be honest with you, I want to take this model that I have today and take it all over the world," she teased. "This is not the kind of model you see in your home. This is a model where everyone works."
Added Valcourt, "It's not like it's a handout or anything like that. It's a community. It's a place where people are able to live. And it's part of her beliefs, too: what community should be, taking care of the land, and having the land take care of you. So there's still going to be a homeless problem in Hawaii, but at least she's doing her part to take care of those in her immediate community."
The community is now serving 106 people and counting, with Blanche consistently knocking down literal and metaphorical doors in the local and state government to serve more.
Aloha
Tetairoa McMillan was born in WaimÄnalo but moved to Southern California as a one-year-old. He went back to OÊ»ahu every summer and Christmas, though, spending time with his family, exploring the islands, and learning about his culture.
By the time his grandmother started Hui Mahi'ai 'Äina, the pandemic had halted a lot of travel. Then he was beginning his football career in earnest, finishing high school and preparing to play at Arizona. It wasn't until a couple of years ago that the gravity of his grandmother's impact really started to take root.
"Man, I was a little young buck, so I wasn't really educated enough to really understand what was going on around me," laughed McMillan. "But I feel like the older I got, the more I understood what she was doing and the type of person she is, the type of demeanor and order that she carries.
"She's obviously somebody that inspired not only me but my whole family, just growing up, and I mean even still to this day, her hospitality, her humility really rubs off on me and my family. Just being able to be that person that anybody can come to, not only her family, but she also owns the homeless shelter, so she really welcomes anybody into the family."
When Blanche was telling the story of Hui Mahi'ai 'Äina to local Tucson media while McMillan was in college at Arizona, the realization of just what kind of legacy his grandmother was creating shifted something in Tetairoa. He asked his grandmother if they could serve at a local homeless shelter.
While there, she turned to him and said, "I said, 'Tetairoa. Is that what you really want to take care of? You really want to take care of people?' He said, 'Well, Grandma, I can be just like you.'"
It was all she'd ever hoped to impart to her grandson, who has already become involved in the Charlotte community.
"Teaching Tetairoa what is right from wrong, how to love one another, because in a Hawaiian way, we always love each other and we are one big family. We always will be there for each other, and that's how we grew up," said Blanche.
"As long as our children can see what we do, the kids will grow up and become what we areâŠIt makes me happy that my grandson, he sees me doing this kind of thing. The heart that he has is unbelievable."
He came by it honestly, raised in a family that strives to embody aloha in everything they do. At the center of that is their matriarch.
"I feel like she touches a lot of people, she affects a lot of people, and people just, for some reason, some way, somehow people just tend to flock to her, and I don't know, but I think a big part of it just has to be that she's super big in her faith. She allows God to lead her and guide her, and she follows Him.
"I feel like a lot of people see my grandma as their grandma, and I like that. I'm fortunate enough to do a lot of big things and whatnot, but I'm still striving to be as good as she is or the person that she is."
McMillan will get to tell the world about this on Sunday, when the Panthers suit up to face the Rams. The game will be the Panthers' players' chance to participate in the My Cause, My Cleats initiative, and McMillan will proudly step on the field in shoes that share at least some of the story of Hui Mahi'ai 'Äina.
"The NFL is such an incredible platform to be able to tell the story of something that started as just a small community in East Oahu," said Valcourt. "To be able to tell this story nationwide, it's going to just make such a huge difference."
There are fewer than 20 players with Hawaiian ties currently on active rosters in the league, and, as one of the faces of the culture in the NFL, McMillan knows he has a responsibility to share the story of his people with the world. And that means sharing the story of what his grandmother is doing in their community.
"That's obviously a big thing for me," admitted McMillan. "There's not too many of us in the league and just in the world in general, so just being able to hold that on my back and just being able to be that light to our community, to our culture, to my family, that means a lot.
"I'm going to continue to be an inspiration to people in our community, people in general, especially the young community, the next generation. So, just being able to rep not only my family but a cause that my family is really big on is super big.
"She surprises me every day, and I have no doubt in my mind that her legacy will live on forever."
