Big mahalo to more than 100 participants and the volunteers involved Dec. 11 at Kanaha Beach Park in the annual Valley Isle Road Runners Christmas Fun Runs and food drive. The event collected nearly 200 pounds of food for the Maui Food Bank.
Heartfelt thanks to our sponsors: Bistro Casanova, Go Brazilian Salon, Hawaiian Moons Natural Foods, Ko Ko Ichiban Ya, Las Pinatas Mexican Restaurant, Maui Coffee Roasters, Maui Cyclery and Starbucks Maui Marketplace. Their contributions were appreciated by runners and organizers alike.
Also, thank you to former Race Director SeaRay Beltran, and Valley Isle Road Runners board members Morgan Gerdel and Eric Gerdes.
Sue and Tom Armstrong
Race directors
Valley Isle Road Runners
* * *
We at Hale Kau Kau are thankful for more than 50 volunteers who on Christmas Day fed 251 people, with a visit by Santa and gifts for the children, at St. Theresa Church Parish Hall; and who delivered meals to 53 homebound elderly, sick and disabled people at their homes.
The dedicated Hale Kau Kau staff and wonderful volunteers decorated the hall, sorted gifts, prepared and served the dinner, and performed other tasks of such a celebration.
Also, special mahalo to the businesses and organizations that donated food and supplies, especially Costco, Eskimo Candy, Harvest Linen, Maui Food Bank, Meadow Gold Dairies Inc. and Wailea Community Association.
Mahalo nui loa to all who support our mission to provide a warm, nutritious evening meal 365 days a year for the hungry, homeless and homebound of South Maui.
Marie Thomas and Tina Draper
Hale Kau Kau
* * *
The Maui Film Festival thanks all of the attendees who came to our recent FirstLight films at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center; our 50 volunteers; caterers; DJ GED; Sal Godinez; Gene and Makana Argel; and all the MACC staff who made it possible! A happy and healthy New Year to all!
Barry and Stella Rivers and staff
Maui Film Festival
* * *
Keiki Oka 'Aina eco. Village Ohana extends mahalo to the beautiful souls who cared for the aina and her native species during a cleanup Dec. 11 in a north Kihei gulch, while perpetuating Hawaiian culture, ecology and open space.
Volunteers and support came from Air Conditioning of Maui; Aloha Disposal; Community Work Day; CZM Wetland Management Policy; Eskimo Candy Seafoods; Hawaiian Cement; Ko'ie'ie fishpond; Maui Sporting Goods; Minit Stop; Southwest Maui Watershed Project; Takamiya Market; Trend Builders LLC; Viking Construction; Mayor Alan Arakawa; Betty Leis; Maizie Sanford; Forest and Kim Star of U.S. Geological Survey, plus schools, churches, county/state departments and programs, and many more that this space precludes listing.
Dee Larson
Keiki Oka 'Aina eco.
Village Ohana
* * *
On behalf of the Department of Human Services, I thank everyone who improved the lives of foster children over the holidays, including our resource families that provide safe and loving homes.
On Maui, the Marriott Hotel donated boogie boards and other recreational gear for resource families with teenagers.
That is just one example of how our communities brightened the holidays for Hawaii's foster children. Everyone's contributions are appreciated greatly.
Patricia McManaman
Interim human services director
* * *
Mahalo to all who joined Habitat for Humanity Maui to eliminate poverty and homelessness in 2010. We appreciate your participation as volunteers with our Home Builds, ReStore and events. Your contributions in labor, lunches, new and nearly new building materials, and monetary donations enabled four families to live in their own homes in Kula, Waiehu and Paukukalo.
We hope you will consider us in 2011 as you clean out your unused building materials, and as you seek construction and retail work experience.
Cheryl Pokipala
Habitat for Humanity Maui
* * *
After two years of fundraising, this past Nov. 12 our class traveled to Washington, D.C.
Before our trip, Maui News photojournalist Matthew Thayer visited our classroom. He shared ideas to help us take better pictures in Washington. It was very exciting when he showed us many photos he has taken on Maui.
We thank Mr. Thayer for his time. He inspired us to not just take a picture, but to take the best possible pictures.
Koa Class students
Montessori School of Maui
* * *
9th Life Hawaii thanks Pacific Whale Foundation and Olapa Koa Charters for ocean-activity gift certificates for the visiting veterinarians, who sterilized 304 cats during a recent weeklong feline spay/neuter clinic.
We also thank Kihei Car Rental for a car for the veterinarians' use and a van to transport the cats, and thank the anonymous donors who provided a beautiful cottage for the vets to stay in.
The veterinarians again will travel halfway around the world for a 9th Life Hawaii feline spay/neuter clinic in February. We would love to be able to provide more gift certificates, which may be mailed to us at P.O. Box 476, Makawao 96768.
Phyllis Tavares
9th Life Hawaii
* * *
On behalf of the African American Heritage Foundation of Maui, mahalo to more than 250 participants in our Martin Luther King Jr. Day Peace March from the University of Hawaii Maui College, along Kaaumanu Avenue to Hoaloha Park.
Special thanks to those who gave freely of their talents - Kihei Canoe Club's Maui Nui O Kama cultural group; kumu hula Auntie Doll Aricayos and her Gracious Ladies; Carolyn Golojuch, who spoke on "Holding on to the Dream - Safe Schools for All"; Kaleidoscope Kids Hawaii Rainbow Children's Choir under the direction of Dominique Ashanti-Dubois; Riki Torres-Pestana, Hawaiian nation speaker; and vocalists Bridget Cooper, Axil Kollist and Curtis Williams.
Also, mahalo to the County of Maui, Maui Police Department and GP Road Solutions for helping make the march safe and enjoyable; and to foundation members for their unfailing support and dedication in perpetuating the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.
Angela Smith
President
African American Heritage Foundation of Maui
* * *
The 3rd-grade teachers at Lihikai Elementary School thank from the bottom of our hearts those community members who came to teach our students about science benchmarks related to their professions.
We appreciate the many lesson-planning hours taken by Wayne Kajiwara and Sheri-Ann Tihada from Hawaiian TelCom; Marti Buckner and Raymie Abordo from the county Department of Water Supply; Mike Nishimoto and Sonny Gamponia from Kealia Pond National Wildlife Refuge; Steph Mohr from University of Hawaii Institute for Astronomy; Kau'i Awai-Dickson from Maui Electric Co.; and Wendy Swee from the Maui Invasive Species Committee.
Thank you for contributing to the growth of Maui students, who got to see science through your eyes; you have passed on your love for science to the next generation.
We also thank generous volunteers Evelyn Kajiwara for making lei for our speakers and Cathy Donohue for helping the day to run smoothly.
Tracie O'Keefe, Miki-Ann Asato, Carmen Coloma, Katie Shoemaker, Susan Tamakawa, Courtney
Fukutomi and Arlene Fox
Lihikai Elementary School
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Thank-you letters are published on Sundays, space permitting.
Letters must be typed, and be limited to 250 words. The number of people or groups thanked is limited to 15. Whenever possible, include first and last names of individuals being thanked. All letters are subject to editing. The writer's name and community will be published as part of the letter.
The letters must include an address and a phone number where the writer can be reached during weekday working hours. The letters are due by noon Monday in order to be considered for publication the following Sunday.
To submit a thank-you letter, go to The Maui News Web site at www.mauinews.com. Look for Community in the left margin, then click on Submit Community News: Virtual Newsroom.
Once there, go to the Community menu and click on Thank-You Letters.
For more information, call 242-6323.
