Kapalua Maui Charities donates $252,574 to Maui non-profits

Representatives and board members from the seven designated beneficiaries of the 2010 SBS Championship were on hand to receive $252,574 distributed by Ryan Churchill, president and COO of Maui Land & Pineapple Co. Inc., on behalf of Kapalua Maui Charities.
KAPALUA — Kapalua Maui Charities, host organization of the SBS Championship, recently celebrated the donation of $252,574 to local designated beneficiaries and other Maui community organizations.
Funds were raised through programs and auction proceeds from the 2010 SBS Championship. Since 1999, Kapalua Maui Charities, through the Mercedes-Benz Championship and the SBS Championship, has donated nearly $3.5 million to the Maui community.
This year, designated beneficiaries include Boy Scouts of America, Maui County Council; Friends of the Children’s Justice Center; Hale Makua; J. Walter Cameron Center; Ka Lima O Maui; Lahainaluna High School Foundation; and Maui Memorial Medical Center Foundation. Funds were also donated to Maui Junior Golf.
Lahainaluna High School Foundation will use its donation to fund various educational needs, including the new biotech class; support student clubs and athletic teams; and for enhancements to Lahainaluna’s outdoor theater.
Boy Scouts of America will serve the youth of the community by funding programs that teach values of citizenship, character and fitness. The funds will also offset costs at Camp Maluhia, a facility used by many schools and nonprofit organizations on Maui.
Friends of the Children’s Justice Center will use the funds to grant requests from case workers at 25 Maui agencies for physically, emotionally and sexually abused, and severely neglected children, providing necessary and sometimes critical services when no other funds are available.
Hale Makua will use its donation to help fund the Luana Project (meaning “living in comfort”). This project, a long-term commitment, will transform facilities and programs to make them less institutional and more home-like, with the goal of preventing loneliness, helplessness and boredom in the elders living in Hale Makua’s neighborhoods.
The SBS Championship was held in January at The Plantation Course in Kapalua Resort. It is the first official tournament of the PGA Tour season and is limited to winners from the previous year’s tournaments.
A large number of volunteers, many of whom return to Maui each year for their service trip, are excited to see a world-class golf tournament up close and lend a helping hand to benefit the Maui community.
More than 500 volunteers help to put on the tournament event and the economic impact stays with the community long after it is over.
“We greatly appreciate the partnership with our designated nonprofit organizations on Maui. It’s been a win-win situation for us all,” said Tournament Chairman Gary Planos.
“The charities have contributed towards the success of the event by distributing nearly 100,000 brochures, flyers and posters, lowering our operational costs and providing over 3,700 hours of volunteer service, which included washing vans, laundering 450 pounds of linen and cleaning the course. We couldn’t do this without their support.”
The dates for next year’s event are Jan. 3-9, 2011. For more information and tickets, visit www.kapalua.com or call 665-9160.