Hawaiian-themed Long Island food truck raising cash for fire victims

When John Louis launched a Hawaiian-themed restaurant four years ago in Rocky Point, he named it after the island where his father and grandfather spent much of their life: Maui.

So as the Setauket resident watched from afar the deadly fires that ravaged the western Maui town of Lahaina last week, he saw places he knew well. Now he's doing his part to help with a unique type of raffle.

Louis closed his restaurant because of the COVID-19 pandemic but continued in the business with a roving food truck.

As part of his fundraising effort, food truck customers, instead of buying a raffle ticket, can show proof that they’ve given at least $25 to a charity to be determined and be entered to win a party for 10 served with Hawaiian fare made by Louis and his staff on the Maui Chop House food truck.

Louis said he’s been in touch with a longtime friend in Maui who is advising him which charities to select.

“I told him, just let me know what the best venue to donate,” he said.

Finding a reputable charity to support during a crisis can be challenging.

As of Sunday night, the fires had killed 93 people, and authorities in Hawaii warned that the effort to find and identify the dead was still in its early stages. Maui firefighting crews continued to extinguish flareups on Saturday, the local government reported.

“They're finding people dead in the streets and on the sidewalks and people jumping into the ocean to get away from the fires and it's really tough to watch," Louis said.

The Hawaiian state government advises people who want to help to “donate to trusted, well-known charities” and “beware of scammers who create fake charities during natural disasters.”

One charity that the Hawaiian government considers to be a “responsible nonprofit” assisting in relief efforts is the Hawai’i Community Foundation, which launched its Maui Strong Fund last week in response to the wildfires. The foundation, which has been around since 1916, raised more than $17 million for fire relief in just four days, said foundation spokeswoman Sheila Sarhangi on Sunday.

“It’s giving us a lot of hope for meeting the needs of people on the ground right now,” Sarhangi said.

The foundation gives grants to local organizations on the ground and so far has given $1.8 million to organizations for diapers, shelter, veterinary care, transportation, medicine and other services. Sarhangi said the best way for people to help is to donate money to organizations that are there and can best assess the evolving situation: “Needs change daily.”