From left, Chris Kaiwi, vice president and managing partner of Pineapple Grill; Carlayna Nakamura, Hale Makua Health Services director of development; and Betty Sakamoto and Mitch Mitchell of Sakamoto Properties celebrate the donation. Photo courtesy of Hale Makua Health Services.

KAHULUI — Pineapple Grill at Kapalua, a member of the Cohn Restaurant Group, along with hosts Roy and Betty Sakamoto and Mitch Mitchell of Sakamoto Properties, helped to make the Pineapple Grill Fifth Anniversary Gala event benefiting Hale Makua Health Services a tremendous success. 

This year’s event held on May 8 raised $22,400 for Hale Makua Health Services, a nonprofit that provides home and community-based healthcare for Maui’s frail elderly and disabled.

Guests walked down the red carpet and enjoyed delicious food prepared by award-winning Executive Chef Ryan Luckey and the Pineapple Grill culinary team.

Attendees were also treated to libations from a Grey Goose martini luge, Bubble Lounge, Lahaina Rum Mai Tais, and Maui Brewing Company’s Beer Bar.

Proceeds from the event are being used to promote Luana (to live in comfort and ease) at both Hale Makua campuses.

Through Luana, Hale Makua strives to move away from a medical/institutional model of care to one that revolves around residents and is more homelike.

One of the major goals of this initiative is to create communities where residents make their own decisions, and their lives are filled with companionship, opportunities to give and receive care, and variety and spontaneity.

These are the antidotes to loneliness, helplessness and boredom, which account for the bulk of suffering among the frail elderly and disabled, Hale Makua reported.

For information, visit www.HaleMakua.org.