Hawaiian nonprofit Mana Maoli named as finalist for prestigious national music award

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - Daniel R. Lewis is a philanthropist that’s giving three $500,000 Accelerator Awards to those who are creating positive change in youth through music programs.

For 2023, Hawaii’s Mana Maoli is one of those programs nominated.

The educational organization serves about 20 mainly Hawaiian Focus Charter schools on Oahu, Kauai and Hawaii Island. They interact with thousands of students every year, visiting schools and doing school-wide assemblies. The nonprofit says they motivate every child on campus.

In addition to year-long afterschool and elective classes, Mana Maoli also has a solar-powered mobile studio where they have live event & studio capabilities.

Under the tutelage of many of Hawaii’s professionals in the entertainment community — called the Mana Maoli Collective — the students get hands on learning and real-event management.

Keiki find themselves working alongside Hawaii’s award musicians, engineers and videographers.

The mobile studio, affectionately called “Meleana” enables a Music and Multimedia Academy to take learning anywhere the kids are and put them in real-world settings.

The Lewis Prize for Music Accelerator Awards will be announced on KHNL on Dec.12 at 1:00pm. on the Tamron Hall Show.

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