Fundraiser for the Maui Times and staff

UPDATE: First I want to thank everyone who's already given! We quickly met the initial goal of $10,000 and I've raised it to $15,000. Please give what you can! Darris Hurst tells me the Times is working hard to try and cover the ongoing fire situation in Maui while also supporting not only their community by their staff and their families who have been hit hard.

As the Editor in Chief of Gambit, New Orleans' alt-weekly, I reached out to the Maui Times to see if our shop could do anything to help them. I spoke with their COO, Darris Hurst, and after hearing how many of the paper's staff were directly impacted by the fires, we immediately agreed to work out a way to get money to the staff and paper in this crucial time.

Some have lost their homes entirely to the fires, and others' homes are still threatened by them, but all of their staff is thankfully safe. But they need our help, now and in the coming weeks and months as the scope of this tragedy becomes clear and the hard work of rebuilding their community begins.

In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, members of the alt-weekly community rallied around Gambit, raising money to help our staff and paper survive. Donations large and small helped not only give staff money but also some small measure of hope – and a sense that they hadn’t been forgotten. In many ways, it’s hard to imagine the paper surviving that disaster without the generosity of our fellow journalists.

Now, the staff and families of the Maui Times now need our help. In the short term they’ll need money for basic necessities like food, clothing, and a place to live.

Long term the paper will need the support of their fellow journalists as well. Their community will need a strong, independent media outlet not only in the immediate term but also as the rebuilding begins.

At our best, journalism can help provide insights into problems, expose potential solutions and keep the powerful and greedy in check. A vigilant local press will be needed if an equitable reconstruction that respects the rights of Lahaina’s indigenous people and culture is to occur.

Please donate today! We'll get them to Darris so he can distribute them to staff, contributors and other members of their team in this difficult time, and thus help keep a critical voice alive in Maui.

For folks in New Orleans, we’re planning a fundraiser here in the coming days and we’ll publicize details shortly.