Two weeks after the deadliest U.S. wildfires swept through the island of Maui, 115 people are dead and more than 1,000 are still missing. More than 2,200 buildings in the historic town of Lahaina have been reduced to ash, and thousands of residents are displaced with only the clothes on their backs.
Responding to requests from givers, one NCF office immediately opened a fund last week. Generous NCF givers have already contributed $429,979 to relief efforts through that fund. Grants totaling $195,000 have been distributed thus far to fund local charities and churches on the island of Maui.
While the main road into Maui was blocked, some nonprofits leading the recovery delivered supplies via boat and jet skis to beaches, as volunteers waited on the shore to load them onto trucks and transport to them to local churches for distribution.
Now that the road is open, more charities are beginning to work. We’ve curated a list of vetted charities and provided details they’ve shared about their work. All charities on the list are approved NCF grantees, ready to receive grants immediately. This is a developing story. Charities will be added, and details will updated as they become available.
Americares
Send a grant | Visit their website
Americares’ response team is focusing its efforts to address three needs. First, they are providing medicine to local health centers by providing critical medicine and medical supplies to hospitals, clinics, and medical teams. Secondly, they are helping restore health services by providing temporary staff, assisting in repairing damaged buildings and replacing equipment, and providing water and sanitation solutions and generators. Thirdly, they are providing mental health and psychosocial support to first responders and survivors. They have already coordinated emergency shipments of hygiene kits and relief supplies.
Convoy of Hope
Send a grant | Visit their website
Convoy of Hope is on the ground in Lahaina and helping local partners distribute relief supplies to the survivors of the fires. In addition to helping local churches distribute supplies, shipping containers of food, hygiene kits, and baby care items are en route. They have also purchased solar battery kits so those who are still in their homes but without power can charge phones and have limited use of such household appliances as lights and fans. This is not going to be a quick recovery, and they are evaluating their long-term response. The biggest need beyond cash is any ready-to-eat, shelf-stable food.
Direct Relief
Send a grant | Visit their website
Direct Relief is aiding affected communities and facilitating the timely and sustained delivery of urgently needed medical supplies to clinics, shelters, and state and local emergency response agencies with which it is working. 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. Direct Relief also distributed numerous wildfire kits, which aim to prevent emergency room visits during significant wildfire events and contain vital medications including inhalers, nebulizer solutions, irrigation solutions, antibiotics, analgesics, wound care products, and chronic disease medications.
Mercy Chefs
Send a grant | Visit their website
Mercy Chefs in on the ground in Maui, providing hot meals for victims, first responders, and all affected by the catastrophic wildfires. In addition to their disaster relief chefs and logistics team, they have support from teams of local volunteer chefs that come alongside them to meet the need of feeding shelters and people in need over the coming days.
Operation Blessing International
Send a grant | Visit their website
Operation Blessing is on the ground in wildfire-devastated Lahaina, equipping a network of churches and other partners in affected areas to help those in greatest need. They are partnering with Youth with a Mission Kona to expedite funding for essential supplies. They’re providing long-term relief items, including water filtration systems, tents, clothing, hygiene supplies, tarps, lanterns, generators, and grills and propane for cooking to help displaced people survive.
River of Life Mission
Send a grant | Visit their website
River of Life Mission is local, so they’re focusing immediately on displaced individuals and families living in shelters. They’re providing support to those running the shelters as well as coordinating logistics among ministries and visiting medical and missionary teams from across the country. They’re walking alongside evacuees as they transition housing, meeting their basic needs and ensuring victims of the fire are also listened to, cared for, and prayed with.
Salvation Army Hawaiian & Pacific Islands Division
Send a grant | Visit their website
The Salvation Army is currently feeding and coordinating 7,200 meals each day at Maui County/American Red Cross and other shelters in response to the various evacuations for wildfires. The organization continues to seek large volume meal donations from local restaurants and certified kitchens [due to health safety food preparation standards] for meal service at shelters. They are also providing emotional and spiritual care to survivors of the wildfires.
Samaritan’s Purse
Send a grant | Visit their website
Samaritan’s Purse teams are on the ground and serving in Hawaii. They are working with local emergency management, church partners, and local leaders to assess needs in and around the town of Lahaina, on the island of Maui. Their DC-8 aircraft arrived in Maui on the 15th with 17 tons of relief supplies, including solar lights, cooking kits, plastic tarp, and hygiene kits to provide immediate relief to survivors of the deadly wildfires. The cargo jet also carried tools and equipment that will help our volunteers sift through ashes to recover valuables and treasured mementos for devastated homeowners in the weeks to come. Samaritan’s Purse volunteer teams began assisting homeowners on August 17.
Send Relief
Send a grant | Visit their website
Send Relief is working with Hawaii Pacific Baptist Disaster Relief as they monitor the aftermath of the wildfires that ravaged the island. Southern Baptist Disaster Relief teams are assessing and meeting immediate needs.
World Central Kitchen
Send a grant | Visit their website
World Central Kitchen’s response in Hawaii is evolving with the situation. In the first few days, and on both the Big Island and Maui, they established centralized distribution and connected with chefs and residents in impacted communities. Through a partnership with Chef Hui and Common Ground Collective – two two organizations that assembled a collective of chefs to prepare thousands of hot meals out of the kitchen of a community college – they are able to prepare food that is not only nourishing but also culturally appropriate.
World Help
Send a grant | Visit their website
World Help is partnering with a local church in Maui to provide emergency relief, such as food, clean water, clothing, shelter, generators, and more.
Youth with a Mission (YWAM) Kona
Send a grant | Visit their website
On August 11, a crew of four from YWAM Ships Kona set sail from Kona, HI, en route to Maui. The vessel they are using is part of their Flotilla Ministry and is fully loaded with supplies for women and children. They have partnered with Operation Blessing International in order to expedite the procurement of essential supplies for victims. More than 60 University to the Nations Kona YWAM students have taken initiative to fly from Kona to Maui to be of assistance. YWAM has initiated the purchase of over 600 boxes of essential supplies that are being delivered to Maui and is also looking to procure desalinization kits.
