A&B Gives $435,000 to Maui Charities in 2010

By Wendy Osher

Maui Farm, courtesy image A&B Foundation.

The Alexander & Baldwin Foundation provided $435,000 in cash donations to dozens of non-profit organizations in Maui County last year.  The gifts were part of a larger $1.6 million contribution made by the foundation to 550 charities across the state and the U.S. Mainland in 2010.

The Foundation recently published a review, “The Generosity of Many,” providing a snap-shot in time of the support that has been provided to the community over the past year.

A number of Maui-based organizations and the people who support them were highlighted in the publication including: Cubby Vicens with the Maui Native Hawaiian Chamber of Commerce BusinessFest; Garret Hew with the Maui Food Bank; and Mark Vaught with the Maui Farm.

“I’m very grateful for A&B and everything that they do for the community–all of the help that they provide, and of course the financial assistance that they provide to a lot of the different organizations,” said Mark Vaught, Board Chair of the Maui Farm.

The Maui Farm is a non-profit agency that serves youth aging out of the foster care system, or young stressed families in need of safety and guidance.

“We provide housing, and help them transition into self sufficiency.  We also have a family strengthening program where people who are transitioning from homeless or at-risk homelessness are provided with life-skills, family and parenting training,” said Vaught.

“As long as it’s a charitable entity, if we can find a plausible rationale to support them, we do,” said Linda Howe, Community Relations Manager for Alexander & Baldwin, Inc.

“A&B’s roots are so deep in the community, going back 140 years, that it seems everywhere you turn, there’s someone who’s involved in a good cause, a cause of their choosing.  We’re so thankful to be able to support the initiatives that they care about,” said Howe.

The A&B Foundation also highlighted the $25,000 gift given to Kahului Elementary School, where several classrooms were destroyed by fire.  Grant Chun, Vice President of A&B Properties, is a graduate of the school, and recognized the thousands of families the school has served over the years.  The funds helped teachers continue instruction until repairs were completed.

Below is a list of Maui non-profits that were awarded grants from the A&B Foundation in 2010:

• A&B Sugar Museum
• Academy of Travel & Tourism
• Aka’ula School
• All Pono
• Aloha House
• American Cancer Society–Hawaii Pacific
• American Heart Association–Maui Division
• American Red Cross–Maui Branch
• Ao’ao O Na Loko I’a O Maui
• Baldwin High School
• Best Buddies Hawaii
• Boy Scouts of America–Maui County Council
• Boys & Girls Club of Maui
• Carden Academy
• Chamber Music Hawaii
• Community Work Day Program
• DOE–Maui Science & Engineering Fair
• Easter Seals Hawaii
• Family Life Center
• Feed My Sheep
• Friendly Isle United Fund
• Friends of the Children’s Justice Center of Maui
• Fun Day Foundation–A Keiki’s Dream Program
• Giving Back
• Haiku School PTA
• Hale Makua Foundation
• Haleakala Waldorf School
• Hana Cultural Center
• Hana High School
• Hawaii 4-H–Maui
• Hawaii Hotel Industry Foundation
• Hawaiian Kamali’i
• Hui No’eau
• Iao School Renaissance Foundation
• Imua Family Services/Imua Rehab
• J. Walter Cameron Center
• Japanese Cultural Society of Maui
• Ka Halawai O Honokohau
• Kaahumanu Hou Christian School
• Kahului Elementary School
• Kamehameha Schools–Maui Campus
• Kamehameha Schools Maui PTSO
• Kansha Preschool
• Kihei Charter High School
• King Kekaulike High School
• Kula Elementary School
• Kumu A’o
• Lahainaluna High School
• Lahainaluna High School Foundation
• Lanai High & Elementary School
• Malama Kahalawai
• Malama Na Makua A Keiki
• Maui Adult Day Care Centers
• Maui AIDS Foundation
• Maui Arts & Cultural Center
• Maui Bronco League
• Maui Coastal Land Trust
• Maui Community Food Bank
• Maui County Community Television
• Maui County Department of Fire and Public Safety
• Maui County Fair Association
• Maui county Nutrition Program
• Maui Economic Development Board
• Maui Economic Opportunity
• The Maui Farm
• Maui High School
• Maui Historical Society
• Maui Humane Society
• Maui Nui Botanical Gardens
• Maui Nurses Scholarship Foundation
• Maui Pop Warner Federation
• Maui Preparatory Academy
• Maui United Way
• Maui Waena Intermediate School Band Boosters
• Maui Youth and Family Services
• Molokai High & Intermediate School
• Napili Bay and Beach Foundation
• Nisei Veterans Memorial Center
• Pacific Cancer Foundation
• Paia Youth & Culture Center
• Parents and Children Together
• Rotary Club of Kihei Sunrise Foundation
• Salvation Army–Hawaiian & Pacific Islands Division
• Seabury Hall
• Shane Victorino Foundation
• St. Anthony Jr. Sr. High School
• Tri-Isle Resource Conservation & Development
• UH Foundation–University of Hawaii–Maui College
• Women Helping Women