#Maui Economic Opportunity

Maui Economic Opportunity has started the MEO-Maui Fires Fund to facilitate quick housing solutions for those displaced by the Maui fires.

Valley Isle Federal Credit Union on Thursday dropped off school supplies collected for Head Start preschoolers during a drive that ran from June 26 to July 28.

Maui County Council Member Tasha Kama and Edwina Wilson-Snyder, former Maui educator and president of the umbrella council for kupuna clubs countywide, were honored as Kupuna Advocates of the Year at the event.

Lead teacher at Kahi Kamali‘i Infant Toddler Center, Stacy Meyer, was named Maui Economic Opportunity’s Employee of Month.

Maui Economic Opportunity has named Monica Takamura as its new Chief Fiscal Officer. The nonprofit has an annual budget of about $22 million.

The program, which is designed to provide students with hands-on experience and knowledge about various industries in the county, covered areas such as sustainable science, conservation and agriculture, economic and workforce development, Maui governance, healthcare, and construction and technology.

Maui Economic Opportunity is cancelling its weekly Lānaʻi Shopping Shuttle on Tuesday and its weekday East Maui to Central Maui Shopping Shuttle on Tuesday and Wednesday due to potential weather conditions forecast with Tropical Storm Calvin.

A new eight-passenger bus to transport East Maui residents to their jobs, shopping in Central Maui and medical appointments was blessed at a ceremony Friday.

The Maui Economic Opportunity’s Board of Directors appointed officers for the 2023-24 fiscal year, with Judge Rhonda Loo symbolically handing out keys to signify each member’s responsibility to the organization.

Maui Economic Opportunity’s Alex Domingo, is excited about bringing the strategies she learned to Head Start sites on Maui and Moloka‘i to benefit the more than 180, 3- and 4-year-olds enrolled.

Evelyn Del Valle, 24, has come full circle with MEO Head Start, the preschool program offered to income eligible families, individuals in temporary shelter, foster children and others – without charge to them. She was a shy youth, who spoke mostly Spanish, when she attended the MEO Head Start program two decades ago. In May, she earned her associate degree in early childhood education.

A total of 27 individuals were assisted in filling out their US citizenship applications, an arduous process that could take as long as two hours, at a Citizenship Clinic on June 24 at Maui Economic Opportunity in Wailuku.

Maui County paratransit discount booklets will be honored beyond the June 30 expiration date that appears on coupons, according to program administrators.

More than 35 youth and staff of Maui Economic Opportunity Youth Services and Big Brothers Big Sisters got together for a beach cleanup, barbeque and fun activities at Kanahā Beach Park on Wednesday.

Maui Economic Opportunity has begun operating out of the Lahaina Civic Center two times a month to improve access to clients on the west side. Community Services staff will be available from 9 a.m. to noon on the second and fourth Tuesday of each month. 

Maui Economic Opportunity’s popular Teen Financial Literacy Workshop will be held in-person July 10 and 11 at MEO in Wailuku.

Maui entrepreneurs can join the Core Four Business Planning series by Maui Economic Opportunity to receive guidance on writing a business plan and a chance to qualify for up to $20,000 in startup grants.

David Raatz, newly approved director of Council Services, has joined the nonprofit Maui Economic Opportunity Board of Directors, representing the Maui County Council.

A Citizenship Clinic on June 24 at MEO will help residents fill out the lengthy Citizenship application. The Clinic, sponsored by the Legal Aid Society of Hawai‘i, Pacific Gateway Center and MEO, is offered at no cost to attendees. US Citizenship and Immigration Services photo.

Valley Isle Community Federal Credit Union hosts a school supplies drive, June 26 to July 28 to benefit children who have completed Maui Economic Opportunity Head Start program and are transitioning to kindergarten.