Rising from the Ashes (2024)
Watch Rising from the Ashes, a short film that explores the Maui fires and where we are today.
Maui Fires
One-Year Anniversary Campaign
On August 8, 2023, fires devastated Maui, taking precious lives and leaving many people in crisis. Pacific Whale Foundation (PWF) and PacWhale Eco-Adventures quickly responded by transporting supplies to Lāhainā and turning our classroom into a hub for fire survivors. Since then, we have provided displaced children with a safe space to learn, hosted resource and education fairs for affected families, and created new programs to provide long-term care for the ʻāina (land, sea and air) and its people. One year later, they still need your help…PWF still needs your help.
Your impact has made a huge difference this year.
serving Maui's 'āina, culture
and community
monitoring for potential
changes caused by the fires
Your generosity provided 1,129 gallons of water to homes that did not have safe drinking water (the equivalent of 8,551 plastic water bottles saved) and funded 2 new fire-response programs: Mālama Pono, which promotes restoration by connecting community partners with volunteers, and Mauka to Makai, which restores the health of Maui’s affected ecosystems through monitoring and debris removal.
But there's still work to be done.
Conservation, Outreach and
Education programs
launch multi-year Lāhainā
recovery project
expenses for critical whale and
dolphin research
PWF is struggling with the rest of Maui. Your help is urgently needed. In addition to the loss of our Lāhainā offices, a store, harbor operations, and a new boat, the fires dealt a crippling blow to Maui’s economy, impacting PWF operations in such a way that we’ve had to make difficult decisions about staffing and resources.
When you donate to the PWF Critical Impact Fund, you provide unrestricted support for critical operations that deliver long-term solutions to pressing issues such as:
- Water safety
- Soil stabilization
- Coral reef health
- Invasive plant removal
- Safe learning spaces for keiki (children)
- Sustainable tourism
Funding is essential for our community’s recovery and future resilience. Will you help us preserve Maui’s cultural heritage and vulnerable ecosystems? Please donate now.
Malama Pono Volunteer Program
Restoring āina with community. Mālama Pono is a program that allows kamaʻāina, visitors and PacWhale/ PWF staff to immerse themselves in Maui’s sacred ʻāina, culture, and community. Pacific Whale Foundations’ Conservation and Outreach team has revamped the former Volunteers on Vacation program to continue to encourage and perpetuate destination stewardship while inviting our staff and members of our community to get connected with where we call home. GIVE
Marine Debris Monitoring
Marine debris is essentially any human-created waste found in ocean environments. Most of this debris originates from land-based sources, such as someone thoughtlessly discarding a cigarette butt or soda can. Plastics and other materials that resist natural degradation comprise a large degree of marine debris and are of particular concern. GIVE