Creating Opportunities to Build a Better Future.
WeGo Together.
Dream it.
The WeGo! Foundation is a local grass roots non-profit organization that aspires to make a positive impact on our young people’s lives by using sports to help keep them off the streets and learn valuable life lessons. Our intent is to impact not only the youth who participate, but also the communities that all of our participants come from.
Determined to seek out those youth in need , we aspire to offer programs, funding, and mentorship to those talented youth that may not otherwise have the opportunity to have access to high quality sports programs.
The Vision.
Is to provide a support network for athletically talented and needy youth from broken homes in our community, and help them pursue their passion and become productive citizens.
We want to enable our young people to reach their full potential by providing guidance, funding, and mentorship to encourage them to develop into the leaders that they were created to be. We want to bridge that gap and show them that their current conditions do not have to be the trajectory of their life.
Meet The Team
Thibert Lussiaa
Thibert has the leadership skills and personal life experience to be a living example and mentor to these kids. He moved to Hawaii from Tahiti as a young teenager, but during this crucial stage of development he mostly lacked the guidance of a father figure to help navigate his way. As a young man who didn’t speak English and knew no one in his new hometown, Thibert realized that he was going to have to figure things out for himself. Fortunately, a series of amazing mentors entered his life through his involvement in sports, and he began to use athletics as a positive outlet. It became clear to him how important these coaching mentors were to the good decisions he was making and the productive path he was on, and his dedication and passion led to a 20+ year career as a world-class outrigger canoe paddler. During this journey he began to coach youth paddlers, and he eventually realized that mentoring other young men with similar backgrounds was filling a void in him that no amount of awards or accolades had before. Recognized as an elite paddler and coach, Thibert became an ambassador for large corporate sponsors which led to him organizing community events and building a vast network of relationships which he continues to cultivate even today, and the WeGo! Foundation is the culmination of his vision to enrich the lives of the underserved youth athletes of Hawaii. The many lives that Thibert has impacted on one level or another, either through his work, community service, or coaching, speaks volumes for itself.
Rebekah Lussiaa
Born and raised in Kona, Rebekah has a profound appreciation for this land and its people, and has planted deep roots in this community. Her love of athletics began at an early age, when she began a lifelong competitive career in soccer, track, outrigger paddling, and triathlons. A natural and compassionate mentor, Rebekah traveled with her church’s youth group to New Mexico on a humanitarian mission, and was later chosen to represent her hometown as a Community Ambassador to Japan as a young adult. Her interest and passion for sports and young people led her to a coaching career for youth soccer and outrigger canoe paddling teams, and eventually to a B.S. degree in Kinesiology and Sports Medicine. During a 10-year career as an Athletic Health Care Trainer at Kealakehe High School in Kailua-Kona, Rebekah realized that her life’s purpose was to continue working with and inspiring young people through her own personal journey. Seeing first-hand the power that sports have in keeping the talented local youth off the streets, and understanding the positive life lessons and healthy lifestyles that athletics promote, she envisioned the formation of the WeGo! Foundation with her husband Thibert (and friend Keone) to continue giving back to the community.
Keone Au
Keone shares Thibert and Rebekah’s heart and vision for the youth in our community, as well as a long and accomplished athletic and mentoring background that has shaped his own path to WeGo!. His personal experiences have led Keone to realize that “People are the product of their environment, so let’s do whatever we can to positively change that environment.” An outstanding high school athlete, Keone went on to play football at the collegiate level, and his focus and determination earned him a Master’s Degree in Athletic Administration. In addition to competing in sports himself, Keone spent many years organizing, coaching and volunteering with youth athletic programs here in Kona. His most recent community ambition has resulted in a collaboration with the City and County to convert otherwise vacant local facilities into productive athletic venues for the Kona Futsal Project, an organization also dedicated to the positive development of Kona’s youth through sport. The WeGo! Foundation will allow Keone, Thibert and Rebekah to continue their collective vision to provide support, guidance, mentorship and funding to Kona’s needy kids through the framework of organized athletics.
Our Commitment.
We believe that every kid, if given the right tools, guidance, and support, can be successful and make a positive difference. The mission and core beliefs of WeGo! Foundation fuels our commitment to encouraging and inspiring these kids to reaching their full potential.