MEDB Raises Record Funds for STEM Education

US Sen. Daniel Inouye of Hawai’i chatted with 8th-grader Lindzi Takasaki and 2010 Maui High School graduate Bryce Ribucan on stage during Saturday’s record-setting Ke Ala Hele Education Fund dinner and auction at the Grand Wailea Resort. “They’ve got a good future,” Inouye said about Takasaki, Ribucan and the thousands of students benefiting from MEDB’s educational initiatives in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. Courtesy photo.

By Wendy Osher

A record $338,046 was raised during the Ke Alahele Education Fund dinner held over the weekend at the Grand Wailea Resort.

The event, hosted by the Maui Economic Development Board, also drew a record crowd of 700 people who came to support STEM education programs on Maui.

Among those in attendance was long-time MEDB supporter, US Senator Daniel Inouye, who headlined the event with his wife, Irene Hirano.

Proceeds from the Ke Alahele Education Fund dinner are used to support and administer MEDB-led STEM educational programs and to provide grants for the expansion Science, Technology, Engineering and Math educational initiatives.

To date, program organizers say the fund has empowered more than 38,700 students and teachers in Maui County.

MEDB President and CEO Jeanne Skog thanked the Maui community and leaders in both the public and private sector for their monetary support saying, “I promise you it’s going to be put into good use.”

Mayor Alan Arakawa and his wife, Ann, served as the game show hosts of the Maui version of “Are you Smarter than a 5th-grader” during the annual Ke Alahele Education Fund dinner. Before getting started, the mayor held up a device that each participating team needed in order to answer questions posed. Courtesy photo.