Page 104 - ACTL Journal Win24

THE ACTL FOUNDATION’S BOARD OF TRUSTEES AWARDED THREE GRANTS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2024 AT ITS MEETING IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE COLLEGE’S ANNUAL MEETING LAST SEPTEMBER.
FOUNDATION UPDATE
An award of $75,000 was granted to the LEGAL AID SOCIETY OF HAWAII (LASH) to assist victims of the Maui wildfire. The Legal Aid Society is coordinat- ing responses to requests for civil legal assistance from the more than 10,000 residents of Lahaina Maui whose homes, contents, and other possessions were incinerat- ed by the wildfire. We first reached out to LASH short- ly after the wildfire and learned that it had already been
“inundated” with requests from wildfire victims for legal assistance. We also learned that it had no funds to deal with those requests, which it estimates will eventually cost over $1M. With our assistance, LASH quickly put together a brief grant request which the Foundation’s Board approved within days after receiving it. The Foundation’s $75,000 grant was the first major grant that LASH had received for the purpose of assisting wildfire victims.
The Executive Director of Legal Aid/Hawaii, David Kauila Kopper, responded to news of the Foundation’s grant: “The generosity of the Foundation’s donation to LASH will assist us in serving a clear public need – that those affected by the Maui wildfire disaster may begin to regain some control over their lives through the civil legal assistance and education provided.” In the first two months following the fires, LASH has already opened more than forty disaster-related cases in addition to pro- viding disaster-related training and staffing in Disaster Resource Centers.
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