Our hearts are sore as we write this.

During Hurricane Lala, massive eucalyptus trees came crashing down onto Haku Maui, severely damaging both our shop and workshop. The roofs caved in, and in a matter of moments, the place we have poured nearly ten years of our lives, love, culture, and community into was devastated.

In the middle of the destruction, we were reminded of exactly what community means.

Friends, family, neighbors, and even people simply passing by stopped to help us. So many hands showed up to move supplies, furniture, equipment, and everything we could salvage out of our shop and workshop. We will never be able to fully express what it meant to us to have our community surround us during one of the hardest moments.

Right now, I honestly don’t know how to navigate this.

I don’t know exactly where we go from here. I don’t know what rebuilding Haku Maui will look like yet.

I just know that we need help.

Haku Maui has always been so much more than a lei shop.

For nearly ten years, this place has been our piko, a gathering place, a safe haven, a community hub, and a home for culture, lei, learning, laughter, connection, and ʻohana. So many people have walked through these doors to learn, create, gather, share stories, make lei for the people they love, and simply be together.

In December, we would have celebrated 10 years in this location.

To see our wahi pana, this place that holds so many memories, destroyed is difficult to put into words. My heart hurts. I feel lost looking at what remains of something that has meant so much to me and to so many others.

But even through that hurt, I know this is not the end of Haku Maui.

We are starting this GoFundMe because we need support as we figure out what comes next. Funds raised will help us cover the immediate financial impact of the hurricane, including ongoing bills and expenses, replacing damaged supplies and equipment, cleanup and recovery costs, temporary operating needs, and ultimately helping us find a way to start again.

There are still so many unknowns ahead of us, and we will continue to share updates as we better understand the full extent of the damage and what rebuilding will require.

If Haku Maui has ever been a place that made you feel welcome, taught you something, connected you to culture, helped you celebrate someone you love, or simply gave you a place to belong, we humbly ask for your support now.

Any contribution, big or small, means more to us than you know. And if you aren’t able to donate, sharing this fundraiser with your ʻohana and community is another incredible way to help us.

To everyone who has already shown up, lifted something, carried something, checked on us, hugged us, cried with us, prayed for us, or reminded us that we aren’t alone, my deepest thank you.

We are deeply, deeply grateful for all of you.

My heart is sore, and right now the road ahead feels overwhelming. But Haku Maui was built with love, culture, community, and many hands.

And with those same things, we will find our way forward.

This is not the end of Haku Maui.

With all our aloha and gratitude,

Britney & the Haku Maui ʻOhana