Trusted organizations you can donate to for Maui relief

HONOLULU (KHON2) — First and foremost, my deepest condolences to everyone who has been impacted by the Maui wildfires, especially those who lost something, even loved ones.  

Due to this disaster, many relief funds have been established and many hands have been coming together here on Oahu but really across the globe to show our support and Aloha to our brothers and sisters of the Valley Island.  

Many people and organizations have been extending their time, money, and efforts to help in whatever way they can.

The Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement (CNHA) had originally donated $50,000; but thankfully, that only set an example.

“So, we put up $50,000 of our own money; and as soon as word got out that we were doing that, naturally big organizations, Hawaiian organizations, started coming forward saying, ‘hey, we want to help in the campaign to every dollar that they bring in to be matched as well’,” said Kūhiō Lewis, CEO of CNHA.

“So, we are actually at a $1,000,000 matching campaign right now; so, we have received commitments of over $1,000,000,” added Lewis. “So, every dollar that is donated will be matched up to that $1,000,000 mark.”

In just 24 hours, CNHA has raised approximately half a million dollars from about 3,500 donors. You can donate here.  

If you’re hungry, you can help Maui by just buying lunch.  

L&L Hawaiian Barbecue is offering to donate $1 per customer order, but you need your smartphone.

“At L&L, we have stores on the mainland, and we really wanted to see and try to leverage that community there,” says Elisia Flores, CEO of L&L.

“So, what we are doing is that we are donating proceeds from our app sales including, of course, those stores that we have on the mainland, up to $10,000,” said Flores. “And we are partnering with the American Red Cross. We have locations here on Oahu who have donated meals to volunteers, and also locations here on Oahu who are doing collection drives.”

L&L has already donated approximately 500 meals, thus far; but that effort is ongoing and will increase. You can donate here.

If you are looking for something to wear, Show Aloha Challenge is currently printing and selling t-shirts.

In partnership with Print Proz, Show Aloha Challenge is offering Show Aloha for Maui good-quality shirts for $35.  

100% of proceeds go to Maui. You can purchase here.

“We already brought in $10,000 already. We already got $10,000 of donations. We get 20,000 in the last 8 hours. We want to build off that and we want to get out there and help the people in Maui,” says Mike Gangloff, Founder of Show Aloha Challenge.

“It doesn’t matter who you go to. If you want to buy a shirt, you want to donate, come to ShowAlohaChallenge.com,” said Gangloff. “But give to whoever you can give to who can help people in Maui right now and in the future. Rebuild Maui to what it was and even better.”

Show Aloha Challenge will also be hosting a clothes and food drive next weekend at the Aloha Stadium parking lot.

If you scroll through social media, you will see for yourself how inundated it has become with disaster relief efforts but not all may be legitimate.