Families in the affected areas of Lahaina and Kula, Hawaii, will be eligible to receive $1,200 each month thanks to a $10 million relief fund started by Oprah Winfrey and Duane “The Rock” Johnson.
The billionaire media mogul teamed with the superstar actor to help families impacted by the devastating wildfires in Maui, Hawaii, with the launch of the People’s Fund of Maui, NBC News reports. The pair partnered up to donate $10 million toward the fund that goes to anyone 18 or older who lives in the affected area and was displaced by the wildfires.
With Winfrey owning a home in Maui and The Rock being of Samoan descent and spending part of his childhood in Hawaii, creating the fund was only right.
“I have been meeting with people throughout the community that were impacted by the fires over the last few weeks, asking what they most needed and how I could be of service,” Winfrey said.
“The main thing I’ve been hearing is their concern about how to move forward under the immense financial burden. The community has come together in so many wonderful ways, and my intention is to support those impacted as they determine what rebuilding looks like for them.”
The Rock appeared in a video with Winfrey announcing the fund, and shared his desire to aid families affected by the damaging wildfires.
“You want to take care of the greatest need of the people, and that’s giving them money,” Johnson said.
“We want to have this fund go for as long as you, America, choose to help us with this fund,” Winfrey added.
The fund was created one month after the wildfires broke out on the island of Maui, killing at least 115 people and leaving 388 others missing in the town of Lahaina.
Now thanks to Oprah and The Rock’s efforts, residents of Maui’s ravaged areas of Lahaina and Kula can receive $1,200 in assistance every month as they get back on their feet. All net proceeds from the fund will go to those directly impacted by the Maui wildfires.
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