Greetings! My name is Virginia, and I am setting up a fundraiser for my friends, Chelsea and Austin, whom were effected by the recent fires. Many of you know Chelsea and I have been inseparable since first grade and I have been visiting them once a year on their boat in Maui. Please read the following note:

"Hi, as many of you know, Austin and I have been lucky enough to call Lahaina our home for the past 4 years. Austin and I met on Maui in 2019. We will have to relocate and leave our families and the place where my mom's ashes were scattered, due to the devastation caused by the fires.

While we are one of the fortunate few whose home survived the flames (we live on a sailboat), we did lose our jobs, our community, and any foundation we had built for ourselves. As we are not able to keep our boat elsewhere on the island, it seems like our time on Maui has come to an abrupt end.

We were not prepared for the loss of income, nor did we have funds prepared for a move. We are currently without a transmission, or a way to order/install a new one, so we are looking at sailing to Oahu and being towed into a harbor until we can figure out our next steps. Meanwhile, we still need to provide the basic necessities for ourselves and our cat, Tuna.

This has been a horrific experience for us and our hearts break for those who lost their homes and their loved ones. Our hearts break for the Hawaiian people and the history that has been lost. Please know we wouldn't ask for assistance if it wasn't a dire situation."

Here's the NYTimes article that relays their encounter: https://www.nytimes.com/live/2023/08/13/us/maui-wildfires-hawaii-news

Daily Mail Article:

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12409961/Writer-Chelsea-Paslay-gives-harrowing-account-watched-Lahaina-burn-ground-sailboat-devastating-Maui-fire.html

You can also Venmo if that method is easier @Chelsea-Paslay-1 or @Austin-Imlay.

Thank you for any assistance you migtht be able to provide them!