Mākena Golf & Beach Club donates $1,750 to Boys & Girls Clubs of Maui through community art exhibit

Mākena Golf & Beach Club donated $1,750 to Boys & Girls Clubs of Maui on Friday through a community art exhibit that drew 175 submissions, the golf and beach club said.

The golf and beach club also hosted a lei kukui gathering and a donor appreciation dinner for the nonprofit in September, according to its news release. It said it received private donations at those events but declined to disclose the amount.

The money came through the Kinolau Community Art Exhibit. The golf and beach club said the exhibit and Lau Ke Aloha, its community art and stewardship series, each completed a second year. It gives $10 to a featured nonprofit for each submission. This season’s works were inspired by kukui and lama, and the artwork is posted on its website.

Each Lau Ke Aloha gathering honors select Maui nonprofits, and each organization picks a species that reflects its vision. The September gathering was the fourth of 2026. According to the release, Boys & Girls Clubs of Maui chose kukui to represent enlightenment, guidance and cultural connection. The golf and beach club selected lama (Diospyros sandwicensis), which it described as a symbol of enlightenment and growth for youth and the land that sustains them.

Forty people gathered Sept. 3 at Hale Pili, the traditional hale on the golf and beach club’s property, to make lei kukui in several forms, including lau (leaves), hua (whole nuts) and iwi (half shells). One style, lei hilo, is a braided lei in which the stems of lau kukui are twisted together with lau kī (ti leaves) as the base, the golf and beach club said. Kauwila Hanchett, executive director of Hōlani Hāna, led the workshop. Hōlani Hāna is the group of hale practitioners who helped build Hale Pili, according to the release.

On Sept. 27, the golf and beach club hosted a donor appreciation dinner for Boys & Girls Clubs of Maui at its restaurant, Kilohana. The nonprofit invited donors, partners and community members who support its programs, according to the release.

Brad Anderson, the golf and beach club’s senior director of development, said Hale Pili gives the community a place to connect with one another, with Honuaʻula and with the ecosystem. “Forty people came together at Hale Pili to do just that, while the 175 Kinolau submissions reflect our virtual effort toward the same goal, directly supporting Maui’s keiki,” he said.

Kari Luna Nunokawa, chief executive officer of Boys & Girls Clubs of Maui, said the support helps provide keiki with safe spaces, caring mentors and opportunities to grow.

“As we prepare to open our new club on Molokaʻi, that support reaches even further,” she said.

According to the golf and beach club, the Molokaʻi club will be the Boy & Girl’s Club’s first location on the island. It is awaiting final inspections before an official opening, though programming is already underway. Molokaʻi youth and staff have taken part in the organization’s programs and events, including trips to Maui and Oʻahu, the golf and beach club said.

Boys & Girls Clubs of Maui is a nonprofit that has served Maui youth since 2000. According to information from the golf and beach club, it operates eight clubs: Central, Paukūkalo, Kahekili Terrace, Lahaina, Haʻikū, Makawao, a mobile club in Kīhei and, soon, Molokaʻi. Most serve ages 8 to 17, and some accept children as young as 6. The organization is an affiliate of Boys & Girls Clubs of America. More information is available at BGCMaui.org or by calling 808-242-4363.

Mākena Golf & Beach Club is a private residential community developed by Discovery Land Company. More information is available at makenainfo.com.