#Community Action Agency

Maui Economic Opportunity touched the lives of 54,780 Maui County residents, marked its 60th year and honored volunteers and kupuna in the 2024-25 fiscal year as noted in the nonprofit agency’s recently released Annual Report.

The survey of the general public and stakeholders is an initial step as MEO creates a Community Action Plan for 2027-30.

Maui County’s Community Action Agency, Maui Economic Opportunity, was praised as a “second government” for its far-reaching work assisting county residents in need by Maui County Council members, who declared May as Community Action Month.

As Maui Economic Opportunity marks its 60-year anniversary this year, the nonprofit poverty-fighting Community Action Agency held an open house Tuesday, Feb. 4, attended by more than 70 government officials, including Mayor Richard Bissen; community leaders and partners; and MEO Board Members and staff.

Maui Economic Opportunity’s 6th Gala, the agency’s largest annual fundraiser set for March 22, is sold out. The event honors Grant Chun, recently retired Hale Mahaolu Executive Director, former MEO Board President and community leader, and MEO’s 60th anniversary.

Due to the hazards from the winter storm, Maui Economic Opportunity has rescheduled its Open House to 8 to 9 a.m., Tuesday, Feb. 4.

The 60-year-old Maui Economic Opportunity is the only Community Action Agency in the state that assists residents on multiple islands, including Lānaʻi.

Maui Economic Opportunity is seeking to retain Lānaʻi representation on the Board of Directors and is soliciting a community organization to take a seat on the policy-making entity of the 59-year-old Community Action Agency.

More than 1,000 households and 4,000 individuals who were directly impacted by the wildfires have received housing, vehicle, utility, clothing and school supply assistance in the five months since the inception of the Maui fires relief program, according to Maui Economic Opportunity.

David Raatz, newly approved director of Council Services, has joined the nonprofit Maui Economic Opportunity Board of Directors, representing the Maui County Council.

Mayor Michael Victorino proclaimed May Community Action Month in Maui County on Wednesday, May 4, with staff from Maui Economic Opportunity, the county’s Community Action Agency, attending and turning the Mayor’s Conference Room into a sea of pink polo shirts.