MEO Gala Goes Virtual, Aug. 28

The “. . . Do What Is Right” Maui Economic Opportunity Gala fundraiser is going virtual with an online auction and drive-through meal pickup.

The event has been postponed several times in the past year due to the COVID-19 pandemic and was initially set as an in-person gathering Saturday, Aug. 28, at the King Kamehameha Golf Club in Waikapū. However, “due to the dramatic rise in COVID-19 cases in recent weeks, the decision was made to transition to a virtual/meal pickup format for the safety of everyone,” organizers said

The virtual event will be livestreamed on the MEO website (meoinc.org) and Facebook page and Zoom (ID 82862953258, Passcode 252574) from 6 to 7:30 p.m. A concert by Nevah Too Late and a ceremony for guest of honor, Maui County Mayor Michael Victorino, will highlight the evening. The master of ceremonies will be Rod Antone, executive director of the Maui Hotel & Lodging Association and a former MEO staffer.

The online auction will run from 8 a.m. Monday, Aug. 23, to 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 28. Items include hotel stays, rounds of golf, ocean and nature activities and dinners at top restaurants. The auction can be found at virtualgala.events/meogala2021.

Tickets for the meals, prepared by the King Kamehameha Golf Club chef, have been distributed. Those holding tickets can make pickups from 4:30 to 6 p.m. Aug. 28 at the drive-through at the golf club. MEO staff will be directing traffic through the golf club parking lot and distributing the meals.

The fundraising event originally was scheduled for March 14, 2020. The next Gala fundraiser is set for March 19, 2022, at the King Kamehameha Golf Club.

All of the groups and individuals who already have signed up for the event have been contacted, and MEO apologizes for any inconvenience.

For more information about the Gala, contact Executive Assistant Lee Imada by phone at 808-243-4306 or by email at lee.imada@meoinc.org.

MEO, a 56-year-old Community Action Network nonprofit, runs support and relief programs for those in need of rental, mortgage, utility and food assistance; inmates recently released from incarceration; employment; and business planning and microloans; as well as seniors and persons with disabilities across Maui County. 

The agency also runs youth substance abuse, suicide and bullying prevention and family-building programs; the Head Start early learning program for pre-kindergarten youths, and paratransit and human services transportation services.