How Hawaii Life Agents and Maui Prep Bring Holiday Magic to Displaced Lahaina Families

The holiday season arrived unexpectedly fast this year, but it brought with it a different kind of spirit and emotion after the Lahaina Fires. Our community has shown incredible support, resilience, and strength, and there’s one particular organization of our community that deserves special recognition: Maui Preparatory Academy, our Westside school.

During the wildfires, the school opened its doors without hesitation, providing shelter, food, clothing, and a place to rest for those affected. Teachers, students, and community members all came together, and the headcount reached into the thousands. Six weeks later, we asked Dr. Miguel Solis, the head of the school, if we could use their facilities to distribute 9,000 pairs of shoes. Once again, he said yes.

After successfully distributing the shoes in less than four hours, we sat down for lunch and a new idea emerged: what if we lit up the school for Christmas and organized a drive-thru light show? Dr. Solis immediately agreed.

These events wouldn’t have been possible without the generous support of our community and company donors. Alexis Merrill came up with the theme “Candy Cane Lane,” and Hawaii Life Charitable Fund, along with team members Anna Severson and Blake Hill, created an Amazon wish list for gift cards, Christmas lights, and decorations.

Kai Lenny handed out Visa gift cards, Maui Cookie Lab baked 1,000 cookies, and Santa’s helpers passed out hot chocolate, coloring books, and picture books. The Maui Foodbank supplied holiday dinners, and, most importantly, Mr. and Mrs. Claus took time out of their busy schedule to join the event.

The drive-thru light show was a resounding success, with a touchable sense of gratitude and love from all who attended. The brief showers of rain, cool night air, Christmas music, and the coming together of our community created a festive holiday atmosphere.

As we stood in the rain on that Saturday night, passing out gift cards to families patiently waiting in line, something magical happened. The holiday piano music surrounded us, a sweet little baby beamed a gummy smile from their snug car seat, and it hit us like a ton of festive bricks – we were the ones who had received the ultimate holiday gift.

We extend a heartfelt “Mahalo Nui Loa” to Maui Preparatory Academy, Dr. Miguel Solis, the Kai Lenny Foundation for their generous $100,000 donation, all the agents and clients of Hawaii Life who contributed, Anna Severson for raising $25,000 in Amazon gift cards, Blake Hill for donating 400 copies of “Surf Adventures of Noah” books, Brent Williams for providing 1,000 coloring books for kids, and everyone who decorated and attended this beautiful Christmas event. It truly captured the spirit of the season and the power of our community coming together.

For more information on charities we like, visit the blog: “How You Can Make a Difference in Lahaina.”

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Blake and Anna