8 Maui Volunteer on Vacation Sign-Ups: Maui Fire Volunteer Events
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning if you decide to make a purchase through my links we may earn a commission at no additional cost to you. Read about our affiliate policies here.
The outpouring of love and donations from around the world to support the survivors of the Maui wildfires has been inspiring. As Maui is open to visitors to support their economy, many want to continue to give. Here is a hand-selected list of Maui volunteer on vacation opportunities.
Some volunteer organizations require training, such as the Hawaii Red Cross. While that is wonderful to match skills with those who need them, such volunteering can be challenging on a Maui vacation.
Therefore, we have hand-picked the following Maui volunteer on vacation opportunities that allow your short time on Maui to provide the maximum impact.
If you are not visiting Maui or looking for more volunteer opportunities, see our 12 Hawaii Volunteer Opportunities You Don’t Want to Miss.
Do You Have to Volunteer on Vacation on Maui?
Here at The Hawai’i Vacation Guide, we espouse Hawaii’s community-formed action plan for regenerative tourism. The policy is a pillar of the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement.
Part of regenerative tourism is to ensure communities and tourism enrich each other. This is all to say that you don’t have to volunteer when you visit Maui or Hawaii.
We believe the simple act of shopping at local businesses is a huge way to kōkua (help) the community.
To run a business well in Hawaii, one should live on the island. Hence, visiting a restaurant, going on a guided tour, or shopping will most likely be at a locally owned store. Chains like Tommy Bahamas or Duke’s restaurants are not locally owned but for the most part, it isn’t hard to support locals. Below are some ways you can support the local Maui economy.
- 14 Best Things to Do in Wailea
- 14 Amazing Things to Do in Kihei
- The Best Restaurants in Wailea and Kihei
- Local Maui Tour Companies – our favorite and vetted tours
- 9 Best Vacation Rentals in Kihei
Maui Volunteer on Vacation: Get Matched with a Maui Fire Charity
Here is our list of Maui volunteer on vacation opportunities, starting with organizations that act as a clearinghouse.
Timeline: We recommend signing up with these groups two to three weeks before you plan to arrive. This gives them time to match you with an organization that fits your travel schedule.
Volunteering on vacation means you have to be flexible. Be ready to move your itinerary around in order to make it to the volunteer event.
HandsOnMaui is a County of Maui-managed community board of upcoming volunteer events. They continue to add events that directly help fire victims. Fill out their form to get matched with a Maui volunteer event. Maui Nui Strong is the main website and they will link you to HandsOnMaui.
Maui Disaster Response and Recovery Support has a form to connect volunteers with a wide range of organizations looking for help. They will match you with an organization. This organization, Maui Rapid Response, is a volunteer group that formed during COVID-19 and they mobilized again on the night of the fires.
Malama Hawaii is a program built for Hawaii visitors. Malama means to care for in Hawaiian. The Hawaii Tourism Authority helps provide a free night in a hotel when you participate in one of their volunteer events. Many events are malama ‘aina (to care for the land), so they provide a unique Maui volunteer experience. We expect they will start to add events to help with the Maui fire recovery.
Maui Fire Volunteer Sign-up Opportunities
Here is our hand-picked list of Maui volunteer on vacation opportunities. These six Maui volunteer organizations have a focus on supporting the survivors of the Maui wildfires.
The Maui volunteer charities all have their own timeline for signing up so make sure to check these out sooner rather than later so you have time to volunteer on Maui!
Common Ground Collective: The Common Ground Collective has been helping feed those affected by the Maui wildfires and has provided over 92,000 meals in August 2023. They are also helping farmers affected by the fires connect with new buyers so they can keep their farms going.
- Volunteer opportunities are available for washing fruit on Tuesdays & Wednesdays from 12:00-2:00 pm or gardening on Thursdays from 9:00 am to 12:30 pm.
- Use their volunteer request form and specify how you’d like to volunteer and when. There are also opportunities to volunteer for administrative tasks from home.
- Training required: minimal to none
- How to volunteer: form submission
- Help needed: fruit washing and gardening on set days and times
Pacific Birth Collective: The Pacific Birth Collective is an organization helping to educate, support, and advocate for families and local professionals across the Hawaiian islands. Part of their service is to advocate for families to be able to choose birthing practices that align with their traditions and culture. In response to the fires, they have been delivering food and supplies and have doubled down on reaching pregnant and postpartum families in need of resources and support.
- Volunteer opportunities are available to sort, collect, or distribute food and supplies on Maui. They are also open to volunteers for administrative assistance.
- Training required: minimal to none
- How to volunteer: form submission
- Help needed: Supply delivery with unspecified dates/times
Upcountry Strong: Upcountry Strong is an organization that started with COVID. They saw the increasing food insecurity in their communities and took action. They work to provide food, support, and resources in Upcountry Maui. In response to the Maui wildfires, they have been helping the effort to get food and supplies to the whole island.
- Their volunteer needs change with the situation, so their Facebook page has the most up-to-date information. There you can find the exact tasks, locations, and available shifts to help with.
- Training required: minimal to none
- How to volunteer: form submission
- Help needed: support in their hubs during defined time periods
Maui Strong’s Maui Mental Health Response: The Hawai’i Psychological Association and the Governor’s Office of Wellness and Resilience are working to connect mental health professionals with those affected by the fires and to support those working tirelessly to help the community.
- Non-licensed volunteers are being called on to offer mental health support via Zoom for an hour or two to support first responders, frontline workers, therapists, volunteers, and other workers.
- They are also looking for mental health professionals licensed with the state of Hawai’i to offer their services.
- Training required: video training or must be state-licensed
- How to volunteer: form submission
- Help needed: 1-2 hours at your availability, completely remote for non-licensed volunteers
Hungry Heroes Hawaii: This is another organization that began in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and has continued providing fresh meals to those in need since.
In response to the Maui wildfires, they have been providing 3,000 meals per day and are looking for more volunteers to help with various parts of the organization.
- Sign-ups are available for kitchen work, deliveries, farming, social media, administration, and more. Specify your available dates and times within the next 30 days on their volunteer form.
- Training required: minimal to none
- How to volunteer: form submission
- Help needed: specific tasks with various dates & time slots and plenty of availability within 30 days
Maui Food Bank: The Maui Food Bank has been an essential and effective resource that we have seen make a big impact on communities around Maui. They aren’t directly accepting volunteers, but they are partnering with All Hands and Hearts to connect volunteers with organizations that need help.
- There are two ways you can directly help the Maui Food Bank. First is monetary donations, and second is to donate food virtually where you can shop online for your specific donation items.
- Training required: none
- How to volunteer: Make donations via online shopping or monetary
- Help needed: monetary and food donations
Maui Volunteer on Vacation Final Thoughts
Thanks for your interest in volunteering on Maui during your vacation. Maui has a double challenge of supporting the survivors of the Maui wildfires while keeping their local economy functioning. The situation on the island may get worse if unemployment continues to grow.
Therefore, your act of visiting Maui on vacation is a great way to help. If you want to help out while on Maui, this list of volunteer events will help. See our Maui Travel Updates for our continued updates on what you can expect when visiting Maui.
For more Maui trip planning information, read our free Maui Travel Guide or get our best travel tips and things to do on Maui in our Maui Wayfinder Itinerary.