Updated: Sept. 18, 2023, at 1:38 a.m.
Members of a Hawaiian student organization are fundraising in Kogan Plaza Tuesday and Thursday to raise money for the survivors of the Maui wildfires.
Executive board members of the GW Hawai’i Club, an organization for students originating from Hawai’i, sold butter mochi and musubi, a traditional Hawaiian snack made of rice and spam, for community members Tuesday from noon to 4 p.m. in Kogan Plaza to raise funds for victims of the wildfires that burned more than 2,000 acres of land in Maui last month. The organization plans to sell their treats again Thursday between 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
The fires, which are now at least 90 percent contained, killed 97 people and 66 people remained unaccounted for, as of Wednesday.
Frank Fasi, a senior and the financial officer for the GW Hawai’i Club, said the group hopes to raise $500 to donate to the Hawaii People’s Fund, which will go directly to covering the daily living expenses of fire survivors. After the first round of fundraising Tuesday, Fasi said the organization has already raised $315 and are on track to surpassing their goal after Thursday’s sales.
Fasi said GW Hawai’i Club will continue to accept donations at the Multicultural Student Services Block Party, which officials will hold in the University Yard from 4 to 7 p.m. Thursday.
“The fundraiser was just the quickest thing we could get to actually take action and do something,” Fasi said. “A lot of the things that we are selling, like these baked goods, they’re easy to make, easy to get a hold of so the main reason was just to take action now.”
Natalie Turner, a senior and one of the co-presidents of the GW Hawai’i Club, said the amount of students showing their support for fire survivors was greater than the club originally anticipated. She said she is glad GW community members are aware of the fires because news in Hawaii is frequently overlooked since it’s a small state and far away from GW.
“I’m glad that the community is either informed or are interested in learning about it, which I’m really, really happy about,” Turner said. “And our e-board and the people who have stopped by to help fundraise are super engaged and willing to help spread the message.”
Keanu Rowe, a senior and a member of the GW Hawai’i Club, said he was compelled by a sense of “responsibility” to show his support at the fundraiser.
“Being Native Hawaiian, it is inherent in us. This is called kuleana. It’s a Hawaiian word that means responsibility, to take responsibility,” Rowe said. “There’s an inherent kuleana or responsibility that we have to our families and our land, like the land we come from.”
Jennifer Igbonoba contributed reporting.
This post was updated to reflect the following:
The Hatchet updated this post to include the accurate death toll from the wildfires after Gov. Josh Green announced that officials miscounted the number of victims Sept. 15.
