The Local Love Project knows firsthand not only how a disaster affects a community but, also, the long-term effort it takes for recovery. Keeping the recovery dollars local and in the hands of organizations who live and work in these communities helps to ensure your donation dollars go to those in need and that these efforts can continue through recovery process.
Many of you have asked us how you can help the people of Maui. So, we have put together a list of ways you can help along with some current information on the disaster.
By donating Local, you keep donation dollars in the community and with the people that know their community members. These organizations will be there continuing the work of recovery long after the other large relief organizations have left.
The death toll from the wildfires in Maui, Hawaii has now passed 110, making it the deadliest US wildfire in more than a century. Officials are expecting the death toll to continue to climb as the search continues. In Lahaina, where the fires spanned an estimated 2,170 acres, there were over 2,200 structures that have been reduced to ash and rubble.
We’ve put together a list of credible, local-to-Maui relief organizations that we recommend. Yes, we urge you to donate and support Maui on a local organization level! Please help them in their work with the survivors of the Maui fires.
Hawaii Community Foundation
Hawaii Community Foundation‘s Maui Strong fund was created to provide community resilience with resources for disaster preparedness, response, and recovery.
The Maui Food Bank
The Maui Food Bank will use donations to help provide meals for displaced residents. The organizations says that with every $1 given, they can provide four meals to those in the community.
Common Ground Collective
Local Maui food security non-profit that is currently leading the effort to provide 8,000 meals daily for shelters across Maui.
Chef Hui
Local partners and chefs that take in donations and purchase from local farmers to prepare thousands of meals each day.
Maui Hub
Maui’s local food hub, assisting with connecting food to families and meal preparation efforts.
The Salvation Army
The Salvation Army’s Hawaiian and Pacific Islands Division is accepting donations to provide meals for the thousands of displaced residents in Maui emergency shelters.
Maui Humane Society
The Maui Humane Society is accepting donations on its website and on Facebook to help feed and care for displaced pets, many of whom need medical treatment.
“Pet food, pop-up kennels, and litter are pivotal to providing sustenance to animals, as staff and volunteers are putting together kits for families and animals in need,” the organization, whose shelter was already over capacity before the fires began, wrote on Facebook.
You can also help by ordering supplies from the Maui Humane Society’s Amazon Wishlist that will be delivered directly to the organization.
Flash Drought
Experts stated that the disaster began with a flash drought that emerged over the past few weeks. A flash drought occurs when the air gets so dry and so hot that it actually sucks the moisture out of the ground and grasses driving a vicious cycle leading to wildfires. In this case, multiple fires broke out concurrently last Monday and Tuesday in the midst of a flash drought on Maui. One of those was a small brush fire, possibly started by a tree falling on power lines, about 35 miles from Lahaina. Driven by 80 MPH winds from Hurricane Dora, which was offshore, the brush fire became a raging inferno and consumed Lahaina in hours.
Lahaina’s 13,000 residents—those that survived—are homeless and their prospects are frightening and uncertain.
Officials are asking visitors to postpone trips and leave the island
Officials are asking visitors with plans for non-essential travel to Maui to postpone their trips while recovery efforts ensue. The Hawaii Tourism Authority said in a statement on Monday that visitors had largely heeded the call to leave and or cancel plans to come.
“We need roads clear, rooms empty, food on shelves, and all locals with free hands using them to take care of those that need help,” Maui Guide said.
Tourists take away from the locals in need
On Monday evening, the Maui Police Department indefinitely had to suspend a program to expedite the disbursement of aid “due to the overwhelming demand from non-essential individuals and non-Maui residents who have flooded the distribution areas.”
The Hawaii Tourism Authority added that hotels to the west of the island—where a bush fire ripped through areas including Lahaina—had ceased accepting reservations as employees were “working on disaster recovery.” Airbnb has said it would provide free temporary accommodation to up to 1,000 people affected.
On Monday, Maui Guide gave a rough timeline for tourists who wished to return to Maui. It told them to stay away through August, “wait and see” in September, but urging them to return in October as “many Maui businesses will fail without your on-island financial support.”
The Local Love Project is looking at additional ways we can help as well.
#mauistrong #mauihawaii, #maui #localloveproject
