Wildfire survivor and advocate Kai Pelayo and the Stupski Foundation, which
gifted Maui Economic Opportunity $450,000 for early childhood programs,
were named Volunteer and Benefactor of the Year respectively at MEO’s
annual Volunteer Luncheon on Friday, Feb. 13.
Kai Pelayo was named MEO’s Volunteer of the Year.
About 75 government, business and nonprofit leaders, MEO staff and
volunteers filled the MEO classroom in Wailuku. The event, staged for the
last 40 years, is held on Valentine’s Day, unless the day falls on a
weekend like this year.
The highlights of the event are to honor the Volunteer of the Year and
departmental nominees and the Benefactor of the Year.
About 75 volunteers, government and business leaders, and MEO staff attended the Volunteer Luncheon in the MEO classrooms in Wailuku.
Pelayo, who is a former MEO Board President and a current member, has spent
the better part of his life, more than 40 years, engaging in community
service activities, working to expand economic opportunities, improve the
lives of residents and more recently, to assist in the recovery of Lahaina.
He has used his position and connections as Community Affairs Manager for
Bayer to garner donations – including to MEO’s wildfire recovery programs –
participated in community planning and rebuilding efforts, and raised hopes
and spirits among kupuna living in the community he grew up in.
He and his wife barely escaped the flames and smoke on Aug. 8, 2023,
fleeing his home in the Villages of Lealii in Wahikuli. Pelayo considers
himself fortunate: His family was safe and his home survived, suffering
some roof damage.
“I’m glad that later in my life, I’ve been able to do a bit of good,” he
said at the gathering. “It changes things. When you need to help people
it’s not a question; you understand.”
Volunteers of the Year nominees pose for a photo with government leaders and MEO staff. Shown are: (from left) MEO CEO Debbie Cabebe, Council Members Gabe Johnson and Kauanoe Batangan, Volunteer of the Year nominees Geraldine Gendusa and Maile Gonsalves, Benefactor of the Year
representative Sulma Gandhi of the Stupski Foundation, Volunteer of the Year Kai Pelayo, Council Member Yuki Lei Sugimura, and MEO Executive Director Maggie Batangan.
The other nominees for Volunteer of the Year were:
– Geraldine Gendusa, who assists at Spanish-speaking consulate
visits hosted by MEO. She was nominated by the Community Services
Department.
– Maile Gonsalves, a grandmother who volunteers her time at her
grandchild’s Head Start site. She was nominated by Early Childhood Services.
– Christopher Richards, who is the owner of Hot Island Glass and
introduced Youth Services middle and high schoolers to glass blowing. He
was nominated by Youth Services.
Sulma Gandhi accepted the Benefactor of the Year Award for the Stupski Foundation.
The Stupski Foundation grant came at a critical moment last April as rising
costs and threats to funding of Kahi Kamali`i Early Childhood Center and
Head Start preschools weighed heavily on MEO. The grant funded programs for
children prenatal to age 5 and their parents and caregivers and offered
flexibility to support shortfalls at Kahi Kamali`i and unmet needs at Head
Start sites on Maui and Moloka`i.
The Stupski Foundation, which has distributed more than $373 million,
offers grants to programs supporting food justice, post-secondary success,
early brain development and serious illness care. The San Francisco-based
foundation recently expanded its scope to include assisting children up to
5 years old, which made MEO eligible for grants.
Sulma Gandhi accepted the award for the Foundation and honored
volunteers in the room.
“You are the ones who recognize that service to others is one of the
highest callings,” she said. “Volunteerism is a bond that lifts communities
higher and holds communities together.”
In the past year, 308 MEO volunteers performed 2,785 volunteer hours,
saving MEO approximately $91,000, MEO CEO Debbie Cabebe noted. Among those
volunteers in attendance were retired Judge Rhonda Loo, who offered the
keynote speech, and David Fraser and Raymond Cabebe, who played music for
the event.
David Fraser and Raymond Cabebe provided the music for the event honoring volunteers.
MEO Board Member Tessie Segui gets her lunch, served by MEO staff.