Big Brothers Big Sisters of Maui is holding its annual Perfect Pairings fundraiser on September 18 at the Fairmont Kea Lani, an evening of food, music and giving designed to keep volunteer mentors matched with keiki across the island. Tickets run $125 per person for the 6 to 9 p.m. event, which will include a festival-style dinner, beverage pairings, a silent auction and live music from Kaʻena & Friends.
According to Maui Now, community partners have donated silent auction experiences and items, and guests and supporters will be able to bid on unique auction packages that include exclusive experiences, dining packages and one-of-a-kind items. The silent auction is also available online for those who want to bid ahead of the event, and proceeds from the evening go toward recruiting, training and sustaining the volunteer mentors who work with Maui's young people. Television news reporter and anchor Dillon Ancheta will host the fundraiser; Ancheta, who works for Hawaii News Now, made broadcast history as Hawaiʻi's first full-time drag queen news reporter.
A Mentor Center Built on One Man's Legacy
The event supports mentoring relationships for Maui's keiki through Big Brothers Big Sisters of Maui, which operates out of the 6,000-square-foot Mercer “Chubby” Vicens Maui Mentor Center in Wailuku. The facility, which opened in 1998 near Hale Makana O Waiʻale, gives island youth and mentors dedicated programming space, according to Alexander & Baldwin. The center's namesake, former board chairman Mercer “Chubby” Vicens, passed away at age 90 in March, capping decades of local youth advocacy and community fundraising, as reported by Maui Now.
The Maui affiliate's roots stretch back further still. Big Brothers of Maui was established in 1969 to support fatherless boys before expanding into Big Brothers Big Sisters of Maui in 1977, and it later merged with Oahu and Kauai organizations in July 2012 to form the unified statewide nonprofit Big Brothers Big Sisters Hawaii, per the organization's own history. That statewide network, now led by President and CEO Tyler Kurashige following the retirement of longtime chief Dennis Brown at the end of 2023, matches roughly 200 to 300 Hawaii youth with adult mentors each year, according to MidWeek.
Wildfire Recovery Still Shapes the Need
The fundraiser lands at a difficult moment for many Maui families. A statewide food insecurity report published in November found that Maui County reached a 41% food insecurity rate, the highest in Hawaii, driven by ongoing economic displacement following the 2023 Lahaina wildfires, according to LargestCharities.com. Following the wildfires, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Maui was selected by Maui United Way in 2024 as a grant recipient to support targeted youth mental health and recovery services on the island, per Aloha United Way.
Volunteer mentors provide encouragement, guidance and meaningful opportunities meant to help young people across Maui reach their full potential, a mission that has taken on added urgency amid recent community concern. Hoodline's report on a Lahaina poolside brawl that left seven hurt highlighted heightened concern over youth safety incidents and calls for expanded early-intervention and mentoring programs across the island. Hoodline has also reported on Maui community mentorship and hospitality leaders investing in local youth programs, including figures recently recognized among honorees headed to the Hawaiʻi Restaurant Hall of Fame.
A Familiar Venue for Island Philanthropy
The Fairmont Kea Lani in Wailea regularly hosts major island philanthropic functions, including the Maui Hotel & Lodging Association Charity Walk allocation ceremony, which distributed more than $1.7 million to 74 Maui nonprofits in May, according to the Maui Hotel & Lodging Association. Perfect Pairings joins that roster of South Maui benefit events as it seeks to keep mentors matched with keiki heading into another school year.
