Talofa lava.
South King County has no shortage of volleyball players. It has a shortage of open courts.
Le Manuia is a Samoan-led nonprofit in Kent, Washington. We run volleyball clinics, tutoring, and Gagana Samoa and Siva Samoa classes for Pacific Islander and Indigenous kids, free to families and made possible by donations and volunteers.
Why we exist
Youth sports here has priced itself out of the neighborhoods it recruits from.
A season of club ball in this area runs into the thousands, and the clubs are where the coaching and the college exposure sit. So the roster that reaches varsity is often the roster whose parents could buy three years of club first. That is a fee structure, not a talent gap, and everybody in Auburn and Kent can name the kids it left behind.
Language and dance are a different kind of shortage. There is very little of either taught anywhere near here, at any price.
Le Manuia started in January to close both gaps from inside the community. We don't charge families and we don't means-test anyone. Our coaches and tutors come from the same families we serve, so a kid walking into our gym is already known by name.
What we run
What a kid can sign up for right now.
Volleyball clinics and league play
Ta'aloga
Skills clinics and court time outside the club system, with real coaching. We cover the gym, the equipment, and the coaches. Our first clinic filled its roster and no family paid a cent.
For players whose next step is a club team, we also help with club membership fees and uniform costs as funds allow. Ask us — the money is the part families are told to solve alone, and it is the part we can sometimes carry.
Gagana Samoa and Siva Samoa
O le gagana ma le aganu'u
Language classes and traditional dance, taught by elders and practitioners from our own community. Kids learn enough to talk with their grandparents. No school in this district teaches either one.
Academic support and youth assistance
A'oa'oga
Tutoring and study help, plus help with the things that quietly decide where a kid ends up: Running Start, the Washington College Grant, scholarship deadlines, and forms that assume a parent already knows how the system works. We also give youth assistance awards to students who meet our participation and academic criteria.
Where we are
What we have done so far.
00
Youth served so far
$0
Charged to any family, for any program, ever
Jan 2026
501(c)(3) determination and first month of operations
In their words
What families tell us.
Quotes from families, players and volunteers go here. Replace this block with a real one — the comment just above this line in the file shows the shape.
For Funders / Reviewers
The details a grant reviewer needs, in one place.
Our governance documents are current. If your review needs something that isn't listed here, ask and we'll send it the same week.
- Legal name
Le Manuia
- Tax status
501(c)(3) public charity, determination received January 2026
- EIN
85-3487759
- State registration
Washington State nonprofit corporation; registered with the Secretary of State Charities Program, UBI 604 550 597
- Service area
South King County, Washington — Auburn, Kent, Federal Way, and surrounding communities
- Populations served
Pacific Islander and Indigenous youth and their families
- Fiscal year
January 1 – December 31
- Financial documents
Form 990, budget, and board-approved financial policies available on request
Our Funders and Partners
- Puyallup Tribe of Indians Charitable Trust
- Ama Tuato'o
Get involved
Three ways to help.
Give
Most of what we spend goes to gym rental, equipment, and paying instructors. Donations are tax-deductible as allowed by law.
DonateRather give another way? Email support@lemanuia.org or call (253) 261-2538. We take checks.
Volunteer
We need coaches, tutors, siva and language instructors, and people who can work a clinic day.
Sign up to helpPartner
If you run a gym, a district program, or a business that wants to sponsor a season, we'd like to hear from you.
Start a conversationContact
Talk to us.
For families
Ask about enrolling your child, upcoming clinics, or youth assistance.
support@lemanuia.org
(253) 261-2538
For funders and press
Anya Fareti, Founder
support@lemanuia.org
(253) 261-2538
320 Summit Ave N
Kent, WA 98030