Newport Beach reaches across the Pacific to offer a hand to Maui

As recovery efforts continue on the island of Maui after the deadliest U.S. wildfire in a century, those on the mainland are looking for ways to help. People in Orange County have already started collecting item donations, while others have reoriented existing events or organized new ones for community aid to the survivors.

Newport Beach Mayor Noah Blom hopes his city will join them.

Blom announced at a regular City Council meeting Tuesday that he would be visiting Lahaina this week to offer his condolences, see the damage on the ground, meet with residents and see where financial aid could potentially be rendered through the Newport Beach Foundation, a local nonprofit that aims to strengthen current and future leadership in the city through education, research and advocacy.

About $10,000 has been collected through the organization for Maui as of earlier this week, though Newport Beach Foundation co-founder and Councilman Joe Stapleton said he expects that total to grow.

Interested readers can donate directly at nb-foundation.org/checkout/donate?donatePageId=5e44d32b7a6edf3b611f85f0. Stapleton confirmed anything collected by the foundation at this time will be going toward Maui.

Blom said he has mutual friends on the island, fellow restaurateurs who have businesses in Hawaii, who have talked with him about the overwhelming need for resources and help as Maui faces the aftermath of the unprecedented wildfires.

“I was asking if there was anything that we could do in Newport Beach. We feel akin to Maui; we have some crossover. There’s a lot of homes there, our residents go down there or have holdings down there. It’s a quick trip that doesn’t take much from us but shows the support and lets people know that they have friends all over in government that they can reach out to,” Blom said.

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“I think there is a big role for government in this kind of situation,” he continued. “My heart breaks, because it’s such a tragedy for a place that doesn’t deserve tragedy not that anyone ever does. We didn’t want to just walk down there with a proclamation and a letter. Those are nice, but the Newport Beach Foundation ... is going to be sending what they raised down to a nonprofit in Lahaina, 100%. There’s grassroots organizations out there, but we want to make sure it’s going to the right one.”

Blom said it does have to be a registered nonprofit but the organization has yet to be identified. Hawaii Gov. Josh Green has asked for money to be sent to the Hawaii Community Foundation. The Los Angeles Times has curated a list of other organizations that can be donated to.

Once an organization has been identified, the Newport Beach Foundation will cut a check and send it off. All proceeds will go to Maui.

Stapleton said the idea was Blom’s, and he agreed there was a connection between Newport Beach and the Aloha state. Other council members and the foundation agreed that extending a hand to the community was a positive gesture and necessary for a community now struggling without resources.