Easter Seals Hawaii held a blessing Friday morning for its newly renovated Maui campus at the former Kamehameha Schools and Maui Land & Pineapple Co. preschool near the Queen Ka'ahumanu Center in Kahului.
The new facility will allow Easter Seals to provide expanded services to people with developmental disabilities on Maui and Lanai, according to an announcement.
"We are excited to bless this new campus and open our doors to the community," said Mason Williams, president of Easter Seals Hawaii's board of directors. "The new campus will allow Easter Seals Hawaii the opportunity to more than triple the number of youths and adults with disabilities being served in Maui. It will also allow the addition of new programs and services . . . based on the needs of the community."
Article Photos
Easter Seals participant Howard Reinhardt talks with Maui County Easter Seals Manager Roxann Kehus on Friday afternoon at the newly renovated facility called “Kaulana Na Hulu Maha A‘o Maui,” or “Famous are the Feathers of Maui.”
The Maui News / MATTHEW THAYER photo
The new campus has been named "Kaulana Na Hulu Maha A'o Maui," or "Famous are the Feathers of Maui."
"Symbolically, the name encompasses the idea of soaring to reach dreams and goals not only for our participants and their families, but for the entire community," the announcement says.
Armstrong Pacific renovated the 6,000-square-foot campus. Work included new classrooms, upgraded plumbing and electrical wiring, new bathrooms, roof, air conditioning and ventilation system. The parking lot was resurfaced, with new landscaping and irrigation and a covered pavilion also added.
This is the first phase of the renovation of the facilities, which has a $1.8 million price tag, according to previous reports. A second, $2 million phase of the project on the 1.7-acre parcel calls for improvements to a two-story, 10,000-square-foot metal building formerly used by ML&P as a dormitory and office.
On Maui, Easter Seals provides youth service programs and adult day health and individual support services. The campus will be open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Mondays to Saturdays and from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sundays.
To learn more about Easter Seals programs and services, go online to eastersealshawaii.org.
