Hawaii aid money growing
You will see it all across the country, those trying to help those people in Maui in need from big operations like non-profit organizations, to small business owners doing their part to help contribute to the millions going to Maui.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00 You'll see it all across the country, those trying to help people in Maui in need, from
00:04 big operations like non-profit organizations to small business owners doing their part
00:10 to help contribute to the millions going to Maui.
00:13 To see it just completely leveled, it's just shocking.
00:17 Seeing the footage and the videos, the photos that are coming out, it's just devastating
00:23 and it's hard to wrap your head around it, actually.
00:26 So this is called loco moco, this is a very traditional Hawaiian meal.
00:32 Across the United States, there are many businesses just like Nokia Aloha, using their platform
00:36 to help those affected by the fires in Maui.
00:38 And after that, I mean, just kind of watching and just processing and then realizing, you
00:44 know, these people are going to need support and what we can do as the Pacific Islander
00:48 Native Hawaiian community here in Colorado, like what we can do to rally together to really
00:54 provide whatever support that we can.
00:57 Shawna Medeiros Tualepa still has family in Maui.
01:00 She owns Nokia Aloha in Aurora, Colorado.
01:03 So my initial reaction was to call my family, call my dad especially, to make sure that
01:07 he's okay because one of the fires was upcountry, about five miles away from him.
01:13 After the fires, she decided to take action and started a fundraiser with other businesses
01:17 in the area to send aid to Maui.
01:19 There's a few businesses, restaurants and like a massage spa business that are putting
01:25 together drives, supply drives, and there's fundraisers going on.
01:30 For us personally, we put together a fundraiser that's intended to be like a larger scale,
01:36 more united collective effort for the state of Colorado.
01:40 At every state, you'll see local businesses starting their own relief fund that their
01:44 patrons can contribute to.
01:46 It's impossible to calculate exactly how much has been raised nationally by small businesses,
01:51 but major nonprofits collecting donations are sharing their numbers.
01:54 One of those organizations, Hawaii Community Foundation, is recommended by the Hawaiian
01:58 governor.
01:59 According to the website, more than $34 million has been donated to the Maui Strong Fund that
02:04 is distributing those funds to many organizations.
02:07 Some of those include Common Ground Collective, and they've received $200,000 to prepare meals,
02:13 the Family Life Center with $250,000 to help shelter displaced families, and Hale Makuya
02:18 Services got $250,000 for health support for those in need.
02:22 It's good to see people come together to help to donate.
02:25 We've been through so much, have it be through Hurricane Lane in, I believe, 2018 to the
02:32 destruction of Leilani Estates.
02:36 We don't get as much relief as other places in the United States.
02:39 We're so far away from everything else that we, like, it's almost impossible to pick ourselves
02:46 up after that.
02:47 There's such an outpouring of supplies and stuff being sent to Hawaii.
02:52 We're seeing this as more of like a marathon approach, not a sprint.
02:56 Tua Leipa will continue doing her part because she says every dollar raised here on the mainland
03:02 can make a difference for those affected by this crisis.
03:05 Thomas Hoppo, Scripps News, Aurora, Colorado.