Hawaii Wildfire Relief Fund

Thank you for your generous donation to the Hawaii Wildfire Relief Fund. Your donation is hard at work and making a difference, providing emergency relief, shelter, and supplies to people affected by the wildfires in Hawaii. With your support, GlobalGiving made five emergency grants this week to partners in Hawaii that are trusted, local nonprofit organizations on the front lines of the response in the Islands. This second round of emergency grants is just the beginning of GlobalGiving’s sustained, long-term support to Hawaii, made possible by the generosity of donors like you.

Amid the tragedy caused by the wildfires in Hawaii, vetted GlobalGiving nonprofit partners are bringing hope. Here is a short description of some of the critical work your donation is already supporting:  

• Ka Hale A Ke Ola Homeless Resource Centers is a local Hawaii-based nonprofit dedicated to breaking the cycle of homelessness in Hawaii. The devastating wildfires destroyed Ka Hale A Ke Ola’s 48-unit homeless shelter and 30 rental units in Lahaina, displacing more than 140 people. The organization is working overtime to rapidly find housing for the displaced families it cares for. Housing assistance and services are offered to individuals and families displaced by the wildfires, and those who were unhoused before the wildfires and have been displaced again. Your donation will address new housing needs caused by the wildfires, support Ka Hale A Ke Ola’s operations team, and help rebuild the organization’s shelter in Lahaina.

• Hawai’i Peoples Fund is a community-led and community-centered Hawaii-based aid fund established in the 1970s to amplify the impact of grassroots social change movements in Hawaii. Their teams have quickly mobilized within their communities and networks to offer urgent action grants to people affected by the recent wildfires. Hawai’i People’s Fund focuses on Indigenous Hawaiian communities, low-income families, unhoused communities, service workers, people with disabilities, people who are incarcerated, immigrant communities, and communities of color. Individuals in these groups have been disproportionately impacted by crises such as the recent fires in Hawaii. Since launching Maui Aloha: The People’s Response, the Hawai’i People’s Fund community has grown by the thousands, enabling their teams to quickly support grantees in the ever-evolving conditions emerging from the wildfires that ravaged Lahaina and parts of Upcountry Maui.

• Upcountry Strong is a grassroots Hawaii-based organization that launched during the COVID-19 pandemic to support local food security. After the wildfires, Upcountry Strong’s mission expanded to include emergency housing support, volunteer cleanup and debris removal efforts, and collecting/distributing donated goods. With the support of donations like yours, Upcountry Strong has launched a volunteer-led hub just 30 miles from Lahaina in Makawao, where they are coordinating volunteer cleanup efforts and distributing gift cards, food, hygiene and baby products, water, and other sorely needed emergency supplies.

• Arc of Maui is a Hawaii-based nonprofit that promotes and protects the rights of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities in Hawaii, many of whom have been disproportionately impacted by the recent wildfires. Arc of Maui’s group home for people with disabilities was completely relocated from Lahaina to Wailuku as a result of the wildfires, causing immense disruption to services for their clients and community. Arc of Maui’s team has been working tirelessly since then to acquire needed medical equipment and care items to ensure the comfort of the people they support. Sadly, Arc of Maui’s own staff have been directly impacted by the wildfires, limiting the number of staff able to serve clients.

• Hui No Ke Ola Pono is a trusted, Native Hawaiian community health care organization established in the 1980s to provide holistic, culturally appropriate medical care to the Hawaiian community. The organization also offers programs on nutrition, health management, and health care referrals for the community of Maui. Since the wildfires in Hawaii, Hui No Ke Ola Pono has been gathering and distributing donated supplies. The team is also continuing to meet the health care needs of the affected Hawaiian community, including expanding operations to a coordinated health clinic near Lahaina where they are assisting people directly impacted by the wildfires with wound care, first aid, and other health needs.

Your support of the GlobalGiving Hawaii Wildfire Relief Fund powers community-led relief and recovery, and it means that organizations like these and the communities they serve get the critical resources they need to rebuild after the devastating wildfires in Hawaii. 

Here is what Cathy Kerch, community leader and Director of Programs and Operations at Aloha Diaper Bank, wanted you to know about the rapid support your donation is fueling through the Hawaii Wildfire Relief Fund: 

“WOW WOW WOW, that was incredibly quick! Did not expect a decision so quickly, and the amount of help is beyond our dreams. THANK YOU SO MUCH for the support, donation, and for being an awesome organization that provides so much assistance and help to communities in need.”

Thank you again for standing with affected communities in Hawaii. As we continue our immediate and long-term support of our trusted nonprofit partners, we will continue to share updates on the impact of your gift. 

With gratitude, 

Amelia + the GlobalGiving Team

Thank you for your generous donation to the Hawaii Wildfire Relief Fund. Your donation is already hard at work and making a difference, helping to support wildfire relief efforts in Hawaii. With your support, GlobalGiving made emergency grants today to four vetted nonprofit organizations on the front lines of the response. This is our first round of emergency grants in our long-term response, with more to come as needs change and emerge.

Even as Hawaii’s long road to recovery begins, response efforts are still underway. Officials report that the devastating fires are not yet fully extinguished, and search and rescue efforts for the more than 1,000 people still missing will continue. Loss of life has continued to mount this week, with more than 111 reported deaths in what is now deemed the deadliest wildfire in the United States in more than a century. It is estimated that thousands of homes have been destroyed, in addition to inestimable infrastructure damage and loss of livelihood.

Amid this tragedy, vetted GlobalGiving nonprofit partners are bringing hope. Here is a short description of some of the critical work your donation is already supporting: 

• Maui Mutual Aid Fund, led by Maui Rapid Response is a Hawaiian, hyper-local disaster response team made up of individuals from Maui Mutual Aid, Maui Strong, and a number of nonprofit and direct-aid organizations based in Hawaii. As a decentralized citizen collective, Maui Rapid Response’s Maui Mutual Aid Fund is driven entirely by community values and needs. The fund prioritizes direct emergency assistance to vulnerable Native Hawaiians and their families, with a focus on people with disabilities, people who are low income, or people with other vulnerabilities worsened by the devastating wildfires.

• Aloha Diaper Bank is a local Hawaiian-led organization providing essential goods such as diapers and formula throughout the Hawaiian Islands to families of low income, people who are homeless, and people in crisis, including those affected by the recent wildfires. As a result of this disaster, Aloha Diaper Bank is scaling up its services to offer water and fuel—both urgently needed goods to support families in this immediate emergency response phase. Aloha Diaper Bank assists hundreds of families with thousands of diapers and support annually and is preparing for a large-scale diaper distribution in Kaneohe, Maui this weekend.

• SBP leads disaster recovery efforts across the country to make vulnerable residents resilient to potential disasters and to rebuild for those who have survived disaster. With the support of GlobalGiving’s Hawaii Wildfire Relief Fund, SBP has confirmed that it will activate its Disaster Assistance Program. The program offers casework and support to help affected communities access the FEMA assistance offered to them. There is a critical need to connect resources with communities, particularly in Hawaii, where access to power and internet (necessary for beginning the FEMA application process) is still limited.

• Direct Relief is equipping first responders in Maui with medical aid for impacted communities. Its teams are supporting ongoing emergency medical needs among affected communities by mobilizing emergency medicines and medical supplies to areas with the most critical needs.

Your support of the GlobalGiving Hawaii Wildfire Relief Fund powers community-led relief and recovery, and it means that organizations like these and the communities they serve get the critical resources they need to rebuild after the devastating wildfires in Hawaii. 

Thank you again for standing with the people affected by the wildfires in Hawaii. As we continue our immediate and long-term support of our trusted nonprofit partners, we will share additional updates about the ongoing impact of your gift.

With gratitude, 

Amelia + the GlobalGiving Team