Lahaina’s Volunteer Tutoring Project Celebrates 16 Years

A Wine and Silent Auction Fundraiser is planned as a benefit for the Lahaina Complex Tutor Project.

The program, which celebrates 16 years, was founded and is still managed by Pat and Richard Endsley, with all tutors serving as volunteers.  It was recently honored by the Hawaiʻi State Legislature as a Children and Youth Day Heroes award winner for its extraordinary contributions to the community by supporting education.

The grade 3 through 9 tutoring project’s goal is to enhance students reading, writing, and mathematics skills for better educational success in high school and beyond. The annual budget has been supported through community fundraisers, some county assistance and in kind donations.

In celebration of it’s Sweet 16, owners of the ʻĀina Nalu Resort in Lahaina will host the fundraiser on Saturday, May 27, 2017, from 6 to 9 p.m.  The biennial ʻĀina Nalu fundraiser is a key source of funding for this unique program that program leaders say “makes a big difference in the lives of hundreds of students and their families in Lahaina public schools.”

After the 2015 fundraiser, $22,000 was donated to the program, which sustained a good portion of the operating budget for two years. The funds help to pay for instructional materials, scholarships, student recognition and achievement awards, snacks and other program materials.

Organizers say businesses and individuals can make tax deductible contributions toward the event through financial donations, wine, food, supplies, merchandise/gift cards, or an in kind gift for the silent auction. The goal is to raise $25,000 to help defray the program’s costs.

There will be wine, pūpū, a silent auction and entertainment provided by local favorite Kaniela Q. Tickets are $60 and can be purchased online by clicking the “Shop Now” button at the People for Educational Equality website or by contacting Barbara Potts at (808) 344- 5008.