About ten years ago, my family and I spent a few weeks on the Hawaiian island Maui. Maui is my favorite of the three beautiful islands I’ve been to so far. Why? Well, mostly because we had such a great time while there. The hiking and surfing were really good on Maui and one afternoon, we enjoyed views of the island’s mountains, dormant volcanoes, and rainforest during an adrenaline-generating helicopter tour.

We stayed ten nights on Napili Beach (where this photo was taken) and another week near Lahaina’s Old Town which has just been obliterated by wildfires fueled in part by Hurricane Dora.

Whenever or wherever there’s a catastrophe, humanitarian hardship, or political unrest in places I’ve visited or lived, I feel a heightened level of relatability and a surge of empathy for the people, plants, and animals impacted
Here’s a website that has aggregated several ways to donate and help folks on Maui