WAILUKU >> The dreams for youths in crisis continue.

Imua Family Services has taken over the work of Darby Gill, who for more than 25 years made the dreams of Maui youths come true through the nonprofit he formed, A Keiki’s Dream. He retired earlier this year after fulfilling more than 1,400 dreams, from turning little girls into princesses and little boys into superheroes and offering youths a chance to escape their difficult lives through helicopter or zip-line rides.

After Gill’s retirement in March, board members began looking for a nonprofit organization to continue his work. They turned to Imua, a 68-year-old nonprofit that provides services for children with disabilities and their families.

Dean Wong, executive director of Imua, said Monday that it was a meeting of the minds and that Gill was involved in the process.

"The dream-making program is a natural fit for us here at Imua Family," he said in an announcement Monday.

Wong noted that Imua and A Keiki’s Dream worked with similar sectors of the community. Imua has "great relationships" with the pediatric doctors, who refer children to Imua for services. Those doctors also made many referrals to A Keiki’s Dream.

Many of the same businesses that helped make dreams come true also donate their services to Camp Imua, a one-week program at Camp Maluhia for children with disabilities, Wong added. These included horseback riding and helicopter tour businesses.

Imua took over the program July 1 with A Keiki’s Dream and its board phasing out. Wong said some members of the A Keiki’s Dream board will continue to assist and advise through a subcommittee on dreams.

"They will be part of our dream-maker team," he said.

Imua will inherit about $50,000 leftover from A Keiki’s Dream accounts; Wong assured that the money will be dedicated to the youth-directed dreams.

The head dream-maker/program director is Shawn Boeckman. He has been working with Camp Imua and was previously executive director the American Cancer Society and worked at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center.

"I feel I have the best job description in the whole world," Boeckman said Monday. "I get to make kids’ dreams come true."

He added that "it’s a little daunting" following Gill, "but it is an exciting prospect" as well.

Wong doesn’t see Boeckman as replacing Gill; rather Boeckman "represents a new era." He feels that what is needed is "a fresh perspective to bring it (the program) into the new millennial of time." The millennial dreamers of today communicate differently and likely have different dreams from the youths of two decades ago.

"We hope to honor it (A Keiki’s Dream) as much as possible" while adding in "all the possibilities of today," Wong said.

Instead of looking for "children in crisis" — Gill’s phrase for the dream-makers that range from 4 to 18 years old — Imua’s will focus on children who have lost hope.

"It’s a different way of saying the same thing," Boeckman said.

"When a child loses hope, they can lose their future," Wong explained. "We are not changing what a Keiki’s Dream (is) . . . What we are providing A Keiki’s Dream is a little more structure."

What will not change is that the dreams will be developed by the child, who may face abuse, neglect, homelessness, medical or psychological issues, personal loss or family difficulties.

"In continuing the tradition of A Keiki’s Dream, children who are referred to the program choose, create and experience his/her own special dream on Maui," Imua said in its news release. "This child-directed approach not only offers a reprieve from suffering, but validates the child’s self-worth, sending positive messages of support and encouragement, reminding the child what it is to have hope."

Wong said that he does not believe there will be overlap with nationally recognized Make-A-Wish, which has a unit on Oahu. He said that Make-A-Wish tends to focus on terminally ill youths and provides bigger wishes, like trips to Disneyland.

"A Keiki’s Dream was very local, to Maui County, and the dreams were all local," Wong said. "That’s really where our focus lies."

The "big dreams" are out of its financial reach, he added.

The dream process has yet to begin, Wong said, but Imua hopes to grant the first ones in September or October. He could not say how many dreams a year Imua could grant because dreams differ in cost and preparation, but added that the number will align with A Keiki’s Dream historical numbers.

The A Keiki’s Dream website, which is still up, says it served about 75 children annually.

"When children are in crisis, they can lose hope," Imua said. "Sometimes their sense of stability is shattered, their faith in the future, humanity and themselves is lost. . . .

"The goal will be to work collaboratively with these agencies to find those very special children who are in need of that magical boost from our community."