Today we’d like to introduce you to Kimberly Smythe.
Hi Kimberly , we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
Hanai was lovingly created by Kimberly Smythe, a Bend resident, community builder, and lifelong gatherer. Whether around a dinner table or during life’s important moments, Kim has always found joy in bringing people together. She dreamed of creating a place where others could experience that same sense of belonging—a place where people could gather to learn, create, celebrate, heal, and share their stories.
After relocating to the Pacific Northwest in 1998, Kim and her husband, Tim, raised their family while building a successful business together. During this season of life, Kim also began a deeply personal journey of healing and self-discovery. As she reflected on her experience as a birth mother, she felt called to write her story. That journey became her memoir, Letting Go Again, which shares her experience of placing her first child for adoption and the lifelong healing that followed.
Throughout the publishing process, another vision quietly began to emerge. Kim realized she wasn’t simply being called to tell her own story; she was being called to create a place where others could safely share theirs. From that vision, Hanai Foundation was born. Kim set out to create a space where people could show up authentically, share their experiences, and remember that “we are more alike than different.”
At its heart, Hanai is a community sanctuary—a welcoming place to gather, learn, create, and connect. Through regular and seasonal gatherings, classes, and events, Hanai Foundation creates accessible opportunities for individual and collective care through holistic wellness, healing arts, creative expression, cultural learning, and nature-based practices. Each offering is an invitation to slow down, be present, and reconnect with ourselves, one another, and the world around us.
More than a word, hanai is a practice of nurturing and sustaining life. In Hawaiian culture, hanai describes the tradition of chosen family—people who lovingly care for and support one another beyond biological relationships. Similar traditions exist across many cultures, where communities come together to raise children, support one another through hardship, celebrate life’s milestones, and share in everyday life. Kim wanted this spirit of mutual care to become one of Hanai’s guiding principles. Here, we believe community is something we intentionally create together.
We are rooted in the values of stewardship, integrity, and transformation. As Hanai continues to grow, we are cultivating programs, learning opportunities, and resources that support healthier, more balanced lives while strengthening the relationships that help communities thrive.
Community is at the heart of everything we do, and there are many ways to be part of it. Come to a class or gathering, bring your own ideas and creative offerings, volunteer your time, share your skills, contribute resources, or simply walk through the door and be part of the community. We believe that connection grows through participation, and that each of us has something meaningful to contribute.
In the spirit of collaboration, Hanai also serves as a home for other community-led initiatives and nonprofits, offering an accessible, welcoming space where their important work can grow and flourish. By opening our doors to one another and sharing what we have, we hope to cultivate a more connected, resilient, and vibrant Central Oregon community—one gathering, one relationship, and one act of care at a time.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Hanai opened its doors in September 2022, at a time when many people were still emerging from the isolation of the pandemic. While gathering again did not come easily for everyone, Hanai quietly invited us back into community—to remember that our humanity is interconnected and that we truly need one another to thrive.
What were you like growing up?
Kim was born in Madrid, Spain, but spent most of her youth being moved from place to place. Her father served in the military, and the family relocated six times in 11 years, finally landing in Hawaii, where she spent the remainder of her youth.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://hanaifoundation.org/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hanaicommunity/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HanaiCommunity
