Wenatchee Business Holds Fundraiser For Maui Wildfire Victims

Money from Wenatchee Valley is on its way to Wildfire victims in Maui, Hawaii. 

RE/MAX Advantage realtors of Wenatchee held a three-hour fundraiser Wednesday where they raised $3,500 that'll be sent to a Hawaii nonprofit group focused on rapid response to the fires. 

RE/MAX agent Ashley Stanaway says the real estate office has a connection to the devastation through a family that relocated to Wenatchee from Maui in the past two months.  

"We went ahead and arranged something because its got to feel just helpless being away from all your friends and family when devastation strikes," said Stanaway. 

The death toll in the Maui wildfires is now 110 after the city of Lahaina was largely destroyed by last week's wildfires. 

Stanaway says the family is still trying establish themselves in Wenatchee and was hard it by the damage and devastation in their hometown and island. 

“It’s a younger family with two children that had just come over and then they also brought their mom over too,” Stanaway said. “And so, they both relocated to Wenatchee to start on the mainland. And then this happened, and they’re brand new to the community.” 

Dooley Dogs restaurant and Aloha Dreams Mobile Espresso helped RE/MAX Advantage stage the fundraiser. by providing food and beverages.

The fundraiser at the RE/MAX Advantage office on Mission Street in Wenatchee took place between 11am and 2pm Wednesday.

Stanaway says they’d like to see other businesses in the Wenatchee area chip in to support displaced families and residents in Maui. 

She said money from the RE/MAX fundraiser is being sent to the Maui Strong Fund, a campaign set up by the nonprofit Hawai‘i Community Foundation. As of Aug. 16 the campaign had raised almost $35 million.