Help Kelley & Vini who've lost home and business

**I have increased the donation goal based on new info that they had no personal or business insurance. ****

Update from Kelley:

Hello friends and family,

First I want to mention that Vini and I and our animals all are safe. We had time to evacuate our home and walking away from it was heartbreaking.

For those who do not know Lāhainā Town was pretty much burned down from massive fires.

My heart is breaking for my loving Lahaina community and fellow business owners.

We lost everything in the fires. Our businesses and homes.

Sending so much love to those who didn’t make it out and anyone suffering the loss of a loved one.

Due to financial hardships from Covid, I wasn’t able to afford insurance which I am ashamed of. It hasn’t been a easy the last several years but if you know me, my stubbornness to succeed and get through the shit show of Covid as a small independent business was my goal. Things were finally starting to look up. Manakai lost all inventory in the fire. I still have hope that I can pull through and that Lahaina can come together to rebuild. Any contribution is deeply appreciated.

To my Lahaina community, I love you all so much. I can’t stop crying for our beautiful community. Big loss. But big LOVE will get us through this nightmare.

______

Original post 8/10/23

Family and Friends,

We just received the heartbreaking and devastating news that Kelley Chapman and her husband, Vini, have lost everything due to the ongoing wildfires on the island of Maui. The beautiful town of Lahaina where Kelley's swimwear store, Manakai Swimwear, is located has been destroyed by the fires. In a moment's time, everything they owned and have worked so hard for has been lost.

The silver lining is that Kelley and Vini are safe with friends. There is still a good bit unknown as events unfold, and I will update as I know more. Regardless, I wanted to go ahead and start this GoFundMe to help them see that they are loved and supported by family, friends, and others who are moved by these tragic and dire circumstances. Thank you all for any contribution you are able to make!

Thank you,

Brooke Gilbert