ENTERTAINMENT
Collin Morikawa Pledges to Donate $1,000 to Hawaii Wildfire Victims Each Time He Sinks a Birdie
Professional golfer Collin Morikawa says he will donate $1,000 for every birdie he makes this month in order to raise money for the victims of the recent wildfires in Maui, Hawaii.
“Maui has always held a special place in my heart,” Morikawa, 26, wrote in an Instagram post announcing his plans on Wednesday.
The PGA Tour golfer said his grandfather owned a restaurant called The Morikawa Restaurant in the historic Hawaiian town of Lahaina.
“Lahaina and additional areas of Maui and the Big Island are currently being decimated by wildfires,” Morikawa wrote. “Homes have been destroyed, families displaced and it’s far from over.”
The golfer continued: “The people of Hawaii are going to need all the support that we can give them. During the course of the playoffs, I’m going to donate $1000 for every birdie that I make.”
Morikawa said he’s not certain where he’ll exactly donate the funds yet, given the “recency of these events.” “But as the situation evolves, I’ll share the beneficiary to highlight the recovery work they’ll be doing and how you can also support,” he said.
At least 55 people have died in the catastrophic wildfires, The Associated Press reported Friday.
Hurricane Dora, a category 4 storm about 500 miles south of Hawaii, contributed to the damaging winds over Maui, according to the National Weather Service.
The wildfires have forced people to jump into the ocean to escape the flames, while most of Lahaina has reportedly burnt down.
“All the places that are tourist areas, that are Hawaiian history, are gone, and that can’t be replaced,” Richard Olsten, a helicopter pilot in the area, told the AP this week. “You can’t refurbish a building that’s just ashes now. It can’t be rebuilt — it’s gone forever.”
Morikawa said his grandfather’s restaurant was located on Front Street, a historic stretch of restaurants, bars, and stores, in the town of Lahaina.
Lee Imada, a 39-year veteran at Maui News, told the AP the fire is “just going to change everything” in the area and mourned the loss of Front Street after observing the fires and their damage.
“It’s just sort of hard to believe that it’s not there,” Imada said. “Everything that I remember the place to be is not there anymore.”
Maui resident Keao Shaw has also been affected by the devastation. His home, one of the boats for his charter boat business and both of his children’s schools are gone amid the wildfires.
“All [my son’s] favorite things are gone,” Shaw, 39, told PEOPLE on Thursday. “But everything is replaceable. Everything is rebuildable — it’s just going to take time.”
Shaw lived in a Lahaina neighborhood and initially went to grab a few chainsaws to help his neighbors whose trees fell down. When he returned, everything was burning. “The whole town was on fire. It was just an inferno, black smoke everywhere,” he told PEOPLE. “There was black smoke everywhere. You couldn’t see very far. It just looked like if you went into there, you weren’t coming out. And from what I understand, a lot of people didn’t make it out.”
He and his family tried to return to their home the following day, but couldn’t get into town. “Just about every house in Lahaina is gone,” he said. “This is pretty hard on them.”
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