MEO receives national award for work with wildfire recovery
Maui Economic Opportunity (MEO) received the prestigious Promise of Community Action Award from the National Community Action Partnership (NCAP) for the agency’s work in the aftermath and the recovery phases of the devastating and deadly 2023 wildfires. MEO CEO Debbie...
Kathy Collins, Hedy Udarbe honored as Kupuna Advocates at luncheon
More than 450 Maui seniors gathered Saturday for the 53rd Kupuna Aloha Luncheon to meet old friends, partake of a hotel-style lunch buffet, take home some prize drawings and honor Kupuna Advocates of the Year Kathy Collins and Hedy Udarbe. “Our kupuna carry the...
Victoriano Absolor Jr. named MEO Employee of the Month
*Editor's Note: We are catching up on Employee of the Months.* Lahaina driver Victoriano Absolor Jr. was named Maui Economic Opportunity’s Employee of the Month for April. Mele Tu`ifua, a dispatcher who nominated Victor, said her colleague “goes above and beyond” and...
Umani Farms Maui nets top prize in MEO Best Business Plan contes
Irish Mahoney’s Umani Farms Maui business plan was judged the top entry and winner of a $15,000 grant in the fourth Best Business Plan contest, staged by Maui Economic Opportunity’s Business Development Center (BDC). The contest, which announced six winners earlier...
Sheila Yamamoto named MEO Employee of the Month for February
The lead teacher at Maui Economic Opportunity’s Head Start preschool site at Wailuku Elementary School, Sheila Yamamoto, was named the nonprofit organization’s Employee of the Month for February. Her nominator, Family Case Manager Kalena Brown, cited her resiliency,...
MEO installs board members for 2025-26, marks 60-year anniversary
Maui Economic Opportunity’s 60th-year Board of Directors, led again by Carol Reimann, were installed last month with Mayor Richard Bissen, Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke and state Sen. Lynn DeCoite joining the candle-themed ceremony. “The county deeply values MEO as a key...
Viewpoint: Community Services Block Grant Funding in Jeopardy – By Debbie Cabebe, CEO, Maui Economic Opportunity
Federal budget reductions, especially in human services, have been well publicized. Maui Economic Opportunity, Maui County’s Community Action Agency fighting poverty in our communities, has not been spared. Recently, we announced the suspension of our long-running...
Early childcare teacher Tiana Hema named MEO Employee of the Month
Kahi Kamali`i Infant Toddler Center teacher Tiana Hema, whose patience soothes meltdowns and energy ignites creativity and play, was named Maui Economic Opportunity Employee of the Month. “Working in the early childhood field can be extremely challenging at times,”...
Mural with flowers, butterflies greets visitors to MEO Head Start Lahaina
A mural inspired by nearby Kauaʻula Valley with flowers and butterflies by local artist Noble Richardson greets children, their families, staff and other visitors at Maui Economic Opportunity’s Head Start Lahaina Center, the only preschool in town to survive the...
Maui Relief TANF qualifiers reminded to access long-term housing, appliance help
Maui Economic Opportunity has been administering the predominantly federally funded Maui Relief TANF Program in partnership with the state Department of Human Services since shortly after the Aug. 8, 2023, wildfires. The program provides housing, vehicle, utility, clothing, school supply and appliance assistance for those whose home or place of employment was damaged or destroyed by the wildfires or who lived or worked in the burn zone and were unable to return home or work due to the recovery efforts.