Maui Economic Opportunity will be providing money management education, credit counseling and debt management assistance to those impacted by the August 2023 wildfires with a grant from the American Red Cross.

The $1.4 million grant, which runs through July 2025, includes two other nonprofits – Texas-based Money Management International and Oahu-based Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement. MEO’s portion of the grant is about $300,000.

The goal of the grant is to provide financial education and housing counseling to ensure that those impacted by the wildfires have the tools to recover and rebuild, the Red Cross said in a news release.

MEO’s Business Development Center (BDC) has been offering adult and youth financial literacy classes for years, covering money management, personal credit and basic investment information.  BDC staff also are certified credit counselors with debt management skills.

Workshops and services are offered on Maui, Moloka‘i, and Lana‘i at no cost to participants.

Earlier this week, 12 youth completed the two-day Teen Financial Literacy workshop at the J. Walter Cameron Center. The instructors were BDC specialist Lianne Peros-Busch and American Savings Bank Kehalani Foodland Branch Manager Jaimie Dukelow. The teen workshop is typically offered during fall and summer breaks; BDC specialists also have taken the workshop to Maui High and will be offering the curriculum at King Kekaulike High.

“This grant from the American Red Cross taps into a strength of our Business Development Center with financial education and credit counseling,” said MEO CEO Debbie Cabebe. “In addition, we have worked with the American Red Cross on relief efforts in Lahaina and Kula.

“Partnerships are an integral piece of MEO’s work in the Maui County community. Grants such as this broadens MEO’s reach. We are gratified that national organizations, like the American Red Cross, trust MEO and work we do.”

About Maui Economic Opportunity
Maui Economic Opportunity, Inc., is a nonprofit agency that’s part of the national Community Action Partnership network, whose goal is to help low income individuals and families and disenfranchised people help themselves and transform their lives. Chartered in 1965, MEO offers more than 40 programs that assist low income people, kupuna, youths, persons with disabilities, immigrants and other disenfranchised individuals countywide. MEO runs the Human Services specialized transportation program for health and dialysis appointments, after-school and youth sports activities and more; and the Maui Bus paratransit system; Head Start preschools and Kahi Kamali‘i Infant Care Center; as well as programs that offer kupuna socialization and information; rent, mortgage and utility assistance; Spanish interpretation and translation; entrepreneurial and financial classes and support, including microloans; inmate reintegration into the community after release; youth drinking, drug, smoking, bullying and suicide prevention; and employment training and placement. For more information about the entire array of programs, visit meoinc.org or call (808) 249-2990.

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