#AD: Kings Hawaiian Awards #ProjectMahalo Winner!

Last week I was invited out to the headquarters of Kings Hawaiian where they were announcing their #ProjectMahalo Winner.

What is #ProjectMahalo?

Directly from the King’s Hawaiian Website: King’s Hawaiian created Project Mahalo to say “thank you” to four nationally recognized charitable organizations that are dedicated to the principles of sharing, generosity and giving back. Project Mahalo invites friends of KING’S HAWAIIAN to show their support for the important work of these charities by going to www.ProjectMahalo.com to vote for the organization they believe best embodies The Hawaiian Way. The largest vote tally will determine which organization will receive a donation of $25,000. All of the organizations selected to participate in Project Mahalo will receive a minimum donation of $10,000. The donations will be announced on May 1, 2013.

Upon arrival to King’s Hawaiian they greeted us with Lei’s since May 1st in Hawaii also happens to be Lei Day.  We were then introduced to the four organizations:

Big Brothers Big Sisters:

Which is an organization that provides mentor matching and long term support to help kids facing adversity achieve success.

Family Caregiver Alliance:

supports and strengthens the work of families nationwide caring for loved ones with chronic disabling health conditions.

Meals on Wheels:

·         supports local Meals On Wheels programs that deliver nutritious meals to homebound seniors.

One Warm Coat:

·         shares the warmth by working to provide a warm coat, free of charge, to anyone in need.

The One Warm Coat organization really touched my heart because of being from Minnesota and knowing how important a coat is needed there.  So, please, if you have any old coats lying around, find an agency that works directly with this organization and drop them off.

CEO: Mark Taira thanked each of the organizations for being there and then invited his daughter Courtney Taira up to award the winner their 25,000 check:

A big congratulations goes out Meals on Wheels for their big check and being most like King’s Hawaiian and their Hawaiian way.

The other three organizations also received a generous donation of 10,000 dollars each.  The #ProjectMahalo started with 100 organizations then they were narrowed down to 30 before selection of the final four.

After the announcement they greeted us with a wonderful lunch and an opportunity to tour the King’s Hawaiian Bakery after:

And of course, me in the bakery trying out fresh bread right out of the oven:

And a Big Mahalo(means Thank You in Hawaii) for making a DREAM come true by having me out at the King’s Hawaiian headquarters.

Disclosure: I was invited out to King’s Hawaiian to watch the announcement of #ProjectMahalo and then given a behind the scenes tour of the King’s Hawaiian Bakery.  Goodies were given out at the end.