Maui

The Rock And Oprah Winfrey Announce $10M Donation To Maui Wildfire Relief

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Oprah Winfrey and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson have teamed up to help the people of Maui. The pair of entertainment industry A-listers announced that they had launched a $10 million fund to directly help residents of the island affected by the recent wildfires. “We are honored to start this campaign with $10 million dollars and ask for your help in donating to those who have lost their homes,” Johnson said. “We thank you in advance for your contribution.” Winfrey, who lives part-time in Maui, has been on the island in recent weeks, visiting shelters and helping distribute supplies.

Wildfires ravaged the island of Maui, which forms part of the State of Hawaiʻi, earlier this month. Driven by the perfect storm of high-pressure areas and Hurricane Dora, high winds blew the fires across the island. Additional fires started when live electric poles collapsed. Hundreds were evacuated and millions of dollars of property was destroyed. Elsewhere, at least 55 people have died in the town of Lāhainā. Meanwhile, the official death tally now stands at 115. Furthermore, smaller and quickly-contained fires broke out on the islands of Hawai’i and O’ahu.

Read More: Floyd Mayweather helps 68 families affected by the Maui wildfires

The Rock And Winfrey Put LA To Shame

The $10 million fund from The Rock and Oprah will go a long way to helping the affected residents of the island. The same can’t be said for some other charitable donations. Earlier this month, the Lakers announced that the 12 LA pro sports teams (Angels, Angel City FC, Chargers, Clippers, Dodgers, Ducks, Galaxy, Kings, LAFC, Lakers, Rams, and Sparks) had come together to make a joint donation to victims of the wildfires. Those 12 franchises are worth a combined $31 billion. However, they gave a joint donation of just $450,000. That’s an average contribution of $37,500.

For context, The Rock and Oprah, are aiming to give 22 times more money to the relief efforts. This is despite their net worth being nine times smaller than the 12 Los Angeles sports teams. As a reminder, the Lakers are paying LeBron James $47.6 million for the 2023-24 season. However, hopefully, the “People’s Fund of Maui” can be put to good use and help the displaced families find some semblance of recovery.

Read More: Hawaiian-born UFC star Max Holloway slams government response to Maui wildfires

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Hawaii-born UFC Star Max Holloway Slams Government Response To Maui Wildfires

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Last week, wildfires ravaged the island of Maui, which forms part of the State of Hawaiʻi. Driven by the perform storm of high-pressure areas and Hurricane Dora, high winds blew the fires across the island. Additional fires started when live electric poles collapsed. Hundreds were evacuated and millions of dollars of property was destroyed. Elsewhere, at least 55 people have died in the town of Lāhainā, with the official death tally now standing at 111. Furthermore, smaller and quickly-contained fires broke out on the islands of Hawai’i and O’ahu.

The fires have been attributed to the spread of invasive grass species like Guinea Grass and a prolonged period of hotter, drier weather. Additionally, recent US National Climate Assessments show that the state has received less rainfall. This is consistent with projections about the impact of anthropogenic climate change. However, the specific cause of these wildfires is as yet unknown. President Joe Biden stated he was diverting “all available federal resources” to Hawaii. Meanwhile, celebrities like Floyd Mayweather made donations to help the victims. However, several people, such as the UFC’s Max Holloway, don’t believe enough is being done by the government to help the victims.

Read More: 12 LA sports teams, worth a total of $31B, send less than $500,000 to aid wildfire victims

Holloway Slams Government Response

“It’s tough man. Everything that’s going on in Lahaina now is heartbreaking,” Holloway told TMZ from Singapore. Holloway is currently preparing for a Fight Night headliner against The Korean Zombie on August 26. “Here, the state, the government at so many levels, I’m straight up going to say it, they failed the people of Lahaina and it’s kind of heartbreaking. When it felt like they were lollygagging, too, after everything happened, the people, the Hawaiian people, the locals there are the ones that stood up, that took on the responsibility, and are helping, and are still helping as we speak. Man, it’s just super heartbreaking.”

However, Holloway has also rejected the suggestion of pulling out of his upcoming fight. “If I can take their minds off of it for a second, a minute, five minutes, whatever it is, I always go in there thinking Hawaii is on my back. I’m going in there a little bit heavier right now. My main message to the families that are directly impacted, stay strong. We’re all here for you guys. We’re gonna keep this going for you guys. This is just the beginning, and we know. We’re in for the long haul on this fight. The recovery is going to take a long time. Everything is gone, and we know this, and we’re here for the long ride.”

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LA Sports Franchises Combine For A Shockingly Low Donation To Maui Wildfire Victims

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Last week, wildfires ravaged the island of Maui, which forms part of the State of Hawaiʻi. Driven by the perform storm of high-pressure areas and Hurricane Dora, high winds blew the fires across the island. Additional fires started when live electric poles collapsed. Hundreds were evacuated and millions of dollars of property was destroyed. Elsewhere, at least 55 people have died in the town of Lāhainā. Furthermore, smaller and quickly-contained fires broke out on the islands of Hawai’i and O’ahu.

The fires have been attributed to the spread of invasive grass species like Guinea Grass and a prolonged period of hotter, drier weather. Additionally, recent US National Climate Assessments show that the state has received less rainfall. This is consistent with projections about the impact of anthropogenic climate change. However, the specific cause of these wildfires is as yet unknown. President Joe Biden stated he was diverting “all available federal resources” to Hawaii. Meanwhile, celebrities like Floyd Mayweather made donations to help the victims. However, the donation put forward by the 12 professional sports teams in Los Angeles has been widely criticized.

Read More: NBA to tip-off with West Coast slate

LA Sports Teams Donate Less Than Half A Million Dollars

Through the Lakers, it was announced that 12 professional sports teams of Los Angeles (Angels, Angel City FC, Chargers, Clippers, Dodgers, Ducks, Galaxy, Kings, LAFC, Lakers, Rams, and Sparks) had come together to make a joint donation to victims of the wildfires. Those 12 franchises are worth a combined $31 billion. And yet they gave a joint donation of just $450,000. That’s an average contribution of $37,500.

What made the situation worse for many social media users was the self-fellating press release that went to great lengths to talk about how much California teams had utilized facilities in Hawaii before also having the audacity to ask fans to also contribute via the American Red Cross. All of this while donating an amount equivalent to 0.0014% of their combined worth. As a reminder, the Lakers are paying LeBron James $47.6 million for the 2023-24 season. Chalk up another W for rampant, late-stage capitalism.

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Floyd Mayweather Aids Families Affected By Maui Wildfires

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The island of Maui, which forms part of the State of Hawaiʻi, has been devastated by a series of wildfires in recent days. Driven by the perform storm of high-pressure areas and Hurricane Dora, high winds have blown the fires across the island. Hundreds have been evacuated and millions of dollars of property have been destroyed. Elsewhere, at least 55 people have died in the town of Lāhainā. Furthermore, smaller and since-contained fires broke out on the islands of Hawai’i and O’ahu.

In response, Lieutenant Governor Sylvia Luke declared a state of emergency. Meanwhile, President Joe Biden stated he was diverting “all available federal resources” to Hawaii. The fires have been attributed to the spread of invasive grass species like Guinea Grass and a prolonged period of hotter, drier weather. Additionally, recent US National Climate Assessments show that the state has received less rainfall. This is consistent with projections about the impact of anthropogenic climate change. However, the specific cause of these wildfires is as yet unknown. Despite this, federal agencies are not the only people helping out. Legendary boxer Floyd Mayweather has also been providing aid to those affected.

Read More: Floyd Mayweather walks back claim he witnessed 2Pac’s murder

Mayweather Helps 68 Families

Floyd Mayweather
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – FEBRUARY 14: Floyd Mayweather Jr. attends a basketball game between the Los Angeles Clippers and the Golden State Warriors at Crypto.com Arena on February 14, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Allen Berezovsky/Getty Images)

Per a report from TMZ, Mayweather has personally paid for 68 families to fly from Maui to Honolulu in recent days. He has also covered hotel tabs for the families, as well as providing food tabs and clothing hauls while they recover from the tragedy. He is reportedly working with the clothing retailer H&M to achieve the latter of those goals. Mayweather declined to comment when approached by TMZ. While he confirmed the report, he stated that he was not looking to garner additional attention.

However, Mayweather has only been able to help a fraction of the people affected by the fires. 2100 people are estimated to be sheltering on Maui. Among those who have been evacuated was London Bree. The mayor of San Francisco was vacationing in Maui at the time of the wildfires. Additionally, a travel advisory has been put in place, asking all non-essential travelers to avoid coming to Maui at this time. Hawaii Airlines has announced that flights will be rescheduled at no additional cost.

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