Organizations accepting donations for Maui fire victims

The Maui Strong Fund
Authorities in Hawaii, including the Office of the Governor of Hawai’i, have encouraged those seeking to help to donate to this fund, which is being organized by the Hawaii Community Foundation. “The Maui Strong Fund was created to provide community resilience with resources for disaster preparedness, response, and recovery,” the foundation says on its website. “The fund is currently being used to support communities affected by the wildfires on Maui.” http://hawaiicommunityfoundation.org/maui-strong

Direct Relief International
The wildfires in Lahaina – the deadliest disaster in Hawai’ian history – have resulted in the loss of over 2,000 structures and claimed the lives of dozens of individuals. With thousands seeking refuge in shelters across Maui and Honolulu, Direct Relief is actively addressing the pressing medical needs of these evacuees and aiding search and rescue operations. www.directrelief.org

Salvation Army – Hawaiian and Pacific Islands Division
The Salvation Army’s Kahului Corps has already provided thousands of meals at Maui County and American Red Cross emergency shelters and is expanding across the island, the nonprofit announced in a press release Wednesday. Click here to donate online.

Maui Mutual Aid Fund
This group of volunteers working to collect money and donations started a “needs list” posted to their social media pages, ABC News Honolulu affiliate KITV reported. They are accepting donations to help Maui families, people with disabilities, elderly residents and others with limited or no insurance. “If you have never done mutual aid work or never responded to a disaster and you feel you are called into responding right now, give us a call. We have a volunteer who will walk you through some very basic steps and will get you connected to the network,” Nicole Haguenin, a volunteer with Maui Mutual Aid Fund, told KITV. Click here to find out how to donate.

Aloha United Way
The Honolulu-based nonprofit organization started in 1919, has created a Maui Fire Relief Fund to help fire victims financially. Click here to donate and learn more.

Maui Food Bank
The food bank took to Instagram Wednesday, writing, “Maui, we stand with you during this emergency. Our hardworking staff is on the ground, making sure those affected get the help they need.” The food bank has asked that phone and email requests remain limited, and directed those looking to help to continue checking its website for updates on the latest relief efforts.  Click here to make an online donation, which the organization said is “the quickest way to make an impact.”

Maui County
Maui County officials have also called for nonperishable food, bottled water, hygiene items and blanket donations. Donations can be dropped off at Maui’s War Memorial Complex from 8 a.m. through 6 p.m. on Thursday. The Hawai‘i Tourism Authority has urged hotels and vacation rental owners “to consider how they might be able to house Maui residents displaced by the fire.”

Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement
The CNHA has partnered with Native Hawaiian and community organizations and businesses to match up to $1,000,000 in donations for ʻohana impacted by the devastating wildfires on Maui.

World Central Kitchen
The nonprofit that provides meals in the wake of natural disasters, founded by chef José Andrés, has its Relief Team delivering food to emergency workers, those in shelters and rural communities on Maui and the Big Island and will continue to identify and fill meal needs. Click here to learn more and donate.

At the End of the Known

In the last years,

so much leaving.

On the incoming clouds,

a time of silence.

So many times we face

into the roaring wind,

equipoint

between coming and going.

We lose all our words on the

ebb of grief.

Seated at the end of the known,

there is no teacher,

there are no guides,

no hope or blame,

only listening.

We can only speak our hearts

to the great Listener

and watch our dreams drift

over the ravaged land.

Our suffering binds us,

blinds us, deafens us

with its wailing love.

Behind the love

is silence.

___________

©2023 Beth Anne Boardman
Dedicated to the land, people, and spirits of Maui