Azeka Shopping Center opens doors to Angel Hands Charity

Azeka Shopping Center is proud to welcome Angel Hands Charity as its newest nonprofit partner, now operating next to Bank of Hawaii at Azeka Makai. The organization brings a powerful mission to the center: providing foster youth, students experiencing houselessness, and families facing financial hardship a chance to attend prom.

Angel Hands joins a growing list of charities supported by Azeka Shopping Center as part of the center’s ongoing commitment to giving back to the Maui community.

“Azeka is more than a shopping center — it’s a gathering place where community support comes to life,” said center representatives. “By opening our doors to local nonprofits, we’re able to give organizations the visibility, space, and resources they need to make a real impact.”

Throughout the year, Azeka Shopping Center hosts and supports a wide range of charitable initiatives, including:

• Tots for Tots Holiday Drive, at Azeka Makai supporting over 5,000 toys for Maui County keiki
• Kula Hospital Bike Run, providing gifts to kupuna
• Tools for Schools, supporting local students with supplies and backpacks
• Coconut Line Boutique, Maui Disaster Relief store
• Halloween Haunted House, benefiting the Pacific Cancer Foundation Keiki Fund
• Thanksgiving Turkey, distribution to Molokaʻi and Hāna families

With Angel Hands, in partnership with Elly’s Formal Wear, students receive a complete outfit for prom including dresses, suits, shoes, dress shirts, ties and even jewelry at no cost. The donated space is used to host fittings, a Glamour Wall and other special events in preparation for prom night.

Upcoming Angel Hands events this year include Molokaʻi prom, Imua Family Services prom fittings, as well as a Dream Prom which gives children with disabilities and mental health challenges the opportunity to experience a magical prom day of their own.

The charity’s reach grew after a viral social media post by founder and owner Terri Ewbank, of Elly’s Formal Wear & Bridal on Maui, put a video on social media asking for prom dress donations for those affected by the 2023 West Maui wildfire.

The request resulted in over 1,000 pounds of prom dresses and formalwear donated from across the country, many with handwritten notes from churches, nonprofits, and supporters from the mainland and Canada. One Lahainaluna high school student chose a pair of donated earrings because they reminded her of her grandmother’s earrings that were lost in the wildfire.

“It’s emotional seeing the kids walk out confident, dressed sharp, and smiling,” said one parent. “You don’t know how much this means to them.”

Azeka Shopping Center invites the public to visit Angel Hands’ website at angelhandsmaui.org to help support its prom dress donation program and send a youth to prom this year.