Richard King Mellon Foundation donates $1 million in disaster relief funding to Hawaii
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - On Tuesday, the Richard King Mellon Foundation announced they are sending $1 million in grants to help support recovery efforts in Hawaii following the devastating wildfires.
The money will be distributed through three grants: $500,000 to the Maui Strong Funds, $300,000 to the Pittsburgh-based Brother's Brother Foundation, and $200,000 to the Maui Preparatory Academy.
"With the foundation's significant commitment to conservation in Hawaii, and our history of assisting with disaster-relief efforts elsewhere, the foundation's trustees were eager to step up and help to show Pittsburgh's support of Maui in its hour of dire need," said the director Sam Reiman.
The $500,000 donated to the Maui Strong fund will be used to support emergency relief needs such as food, housing, and animal rescue.
Brother's Brother Foundation has been helping with relief efforts already and the $300,000 in funding will assist in those efforts.
Lastly, the $200,000 going to the Maui Preparatory Academy will assist the school as it is seeing an influx of students seeking to enroll. The school has seen that increase due to the fact many Maui students no longer have a school to attend.
Hawaii Governor Josh Green, a Pittsburgh native, expressed his gratitude to the Richard King Mellon Foundation for its charity.
"As the Governor of Hawaii, I am humbled, and as a Pittsburgh ex-pat, I am extremely proud that such a generous donation is coming from the hometown of my youth," he said. "On behalf of the people of Maui, I extend my sincerest mahalo, or thank you, to the big-hearted board of trustees of the Richard King Mellon Foundation."
At least 115 people have been killed as a result of the wildfires and many remain unaccounted for.
This isn't the first time the Richard King Mellon Foundation has helped Hawaii. In 1995, they helped conserve one of Hawaii's most treasured native forests.