Jeff Tanonaka Family - Lahaina Wildfire Fund

Hawaii-born family Jeff Tanonaka, his daughter, and Jeff's 95-year-old father (a U.S. Korean War veteran and a retired Hawaiian Airline aircraft mechanic) need our help to rebuild after the Maui fires.

We are Megan Kunisch and Kimberly Martin, and while we called Lahaina our home for many years, we are here to support our dear and kind friend and his family in Lahaina: Jeff Tanonaka (born in Honolulu and moved to Maui at 2 years old), his daughter Kanalu (born on Maui), and his 95-year-old father James Tanonaka (born in Hilo, Hawaii in 1928) to help them rebuild their lives and livelihood after all was destroyed by the Maui wildfires that devastated the entire town of Lahaina. All funds raised here will go directly into the account of Jeff and his family.

We are blessed to inform you that all THREE are 'safe' without physical harm, but of course, they now must try to create some semblance of normalcy, secure daily essentials and begin to rebuild their lives.

As a born and raised Hawaii son, Jeff is the epitome of the Aloha Spirit and is a beacon of all that is good and kind in the world.

Jeff exemplifies true positive values, is a devoted member of his church and community, and everything it is to be a good human. You could find Jeff every sunrise and sunset surfing the local Lahaina surf break (called "Breakwall"), and he is well-known locally as everyone's favorite surfer. He is a favorite not because of his graceful longboarding style and skills, but because he greeted everyone in the water with kindness and aloha, always and without exception. Jeff made it a better day if you saw him in the water that day.

The aloha spirit and grace in Jeff's surfing is something he also carries onto land and into his business as the owner of Lahaina's Metropolitan Fine Art & Framing. His business and artist workshop are in ashes now, but Jeff says his business will return.

While Jeff and his family are safe, they still need our support. We can't imagine how one starts to rebuild a life after such a tragedy, but we do know that they need help (even if it's just a few dollars) in rebuilding their lives. His daughter Kanalu had just graduated high school in Japan this year and had recently moved back to Maui to be with her dad and her grandfather when this catastrophe interrupted her life, so our hearts go out to her so much.

We hope our story of Jeff and his family will inspire you to give, to imagine what you and your family would need in a similar situation, and to also shine a light on such a caring father and devoted son, and this Lahaina family that is in need.

If you cannot donate, please consider sharing this GoFundMe page with all in your network of friends, family, and co-workers.

The entire Maui community needs our support, and we know any gesture of giving will help the community rebuild. Knowing Jeff for 14 years, we know too whatever funds are raised, he will share with anyone who is also in need in his community.

We thank you, and we pray for Maui and all Hawaiians at this time.

Mahalo and Aloha