CEO MESSAGE

President/Chief Executive Officer
Mervina K.M. Cash-Kaeo

The year 2005 marks the 30th Anniversary of ALU LIKE, Inc.! ALU LIKE, Inc. began as a little known infant non-profit organization called N.O.W. (New Opportunities Working). Tutu Mary Kawena Puku‘i later renamed the organization ALU LIKE, which means, “striving together”. Kupuna Wahine Edith Kanaka‘ole, in recognition of the challenging work to be done and the tugging, pushing and pulling that would need to take place to accomplish our goals gave us our motto, E alu like mai kākou, e nā Ōiwi o Hawai‘i (Let us work together, natives of Hawai‘i), to help us meet the tasks ahead.

In our first year of operation, the community confronted our staff with questions such as: different groups have surveyed us for many years with no feedback and no follow up after the initial collection of information. What makes you so different? Why should we trust you? We‘ve never heard of you before this year? Will we even see you again with follow up
action on our information, or will you disappear like all the others?

Staff could only verbally assure our people that we would not disappear and to be patient and trust that we would follow up on their expressed needs. ALU LIKE, Inc.‘s staff rose to the challenge and insured that services and programs provided immediate tangible results to honor the trust and patience the community gave us. Immediate and tangible results are still the measure we apply to all of our efforts on behalf of individuals and families.

Since then, ALU LIKE, Inc. has grown from a $125,000 statewide organization with one O‘ahu office and neighbor island staff operating out of their homes and cars, to a 20 million 20 office organization. Over the past 30 years, ALU LIKE, Inc. has provided immediate and tangible results to more than 100,000 individuals across the State of Hawai‘i. We are different, not like the others, and will not disappear.

The staff and Board at ALU LIKE, Inc. continue to work together with our community to remain relevant and cutting edge in the delivery of immediate and tangible results. I invite you to join us on our journey of “E Holomua”, and to work together to achieve a better tomorrow for our people.

Malama pono,
Mervina