2 Scoops of Aloha Las Vegas Drive Inn
Boxes of donated goods destined for Maui relief efforts sit outside the 2 Scoops of Aloha Las Vegas Drive Inn, which served as a donation headquarters for Southern Nevada residents bringing supplies to aid families affected by the deadly wildfires last week on the Hawaiian island.
Tuesday, Aug. 15, 2023 | 2 a.m.
The phone at 2 Scoops of Aloha Las Vegas Drive Inn has been constantly ringing since Thursday from residents with a similar question: How can we help?
The restaurant on South Las Vegas Boulevard has become donation headquarters for Southern Nevada residents bringing supplies to aid families affected by the deadly wildfires on the Hawaiian island of Maui.
It’s the deadliest wildfire in the United States in more than a century, consuming most of the historic town of Lahaina and killing at least 96 people.
About 1,000 Las Vegas-area residents have stopped by at 2 Scoops of Aloha to donate. Many arrive crying and needing to be consoled by the restaurant’s staff. Some of those making donations were Hawaiian transplants.
“We’ve given out a lot of hugs,” said Shai Walter, the 2 Scoops of Aloha owner and a native of Oahu, Hawaii. “It was pretty overwhelming, the outpouring of all the help and generosity from everyone.”
Donations collected at 2 Scoops of Aloha Las Vegas Drive Inn were packed into three 20-foot moving trucks like the one above, and included everything from toiletries, pallets of water, canned goods, clothes, diapers and baby food.
They collected so many necessities at noon Saturday they closed the restaurant for the day to start boxing everything for transportation. Items were taken to Delta Airlines, which has partnered with relief groups to get them to the islands.
The haul was packed into three 20-foot moving trucks, and included everything from toiletries, pallets of water, canned goods, clothes, diapers and baby food. They had so much water a few days into collecting that they posted a message on social media saying they had enough bottles.
Those canned goods included“plenty of Spam,” Walter said about the staple of Hawaiian cuisine.
A donation drive in the parking lot of Liberty High School over the weekend brought in toiletries, canned goods, clothes, diapers and baby food for victims of the deadly wildfire on the Hawaiian island of Maui. The effort was led by Liberty’s student council and the 702 Blessed youth football program. Organizers estimate receiving donations from about 400 families.
Las Vegas is affectionately referred to as the “Ninth Island” because of the many Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islanders who have relocated here. The U.S. Census says the community is 40,000 strong.
Nua Agatonu came to Las Vegas from Oahu in 1999 seeking a higher-paying job. He eventually settled in at Liberty High School, where he coaches volleyball and football. The school has a heavy population of Hawaiian families.
Agatonu organized a supply drive over the weekend for the school parking lot, getting help from the Liberty student council and 702 Blessed youth football program to help collect supplies.
Bags of donated goods line the floor of a tent at the Liberty High School drive for Maui.
The photos and videos from the disaster left Agatonu, like many others, in shock and with the urge to help. That’s when he approached Liberty Principal Derek Bellow with the idea to host a supply drive.
“We are known as the Polynesian school of Las Vegas,” he said. “We just can’t sit on the sideline and not do anything.”
Agatonu said he was impressed by the response from the community, detailing a parking lot full of cars waiting to drop off supplies. He couldn’t help feeling a connection to his homeland, feeling that Hawaiian love that is indescribable.
“Where we come from, how we were raised, is to get involved and treat everyone as family — in good times or a time of need,” Agatonu said. “We pull together, not only in Las Vegas, but around the world.”
Walter realized the impact they were having when she got a phone call from someone in Connecticut. The caller was part of a group that made blankets for newborns and was preparing to send a shipment to Las Vegas. Walter will send those this week.
Walter is one of the administrators for the Facebook group “9th Island Connections,” which has more than 25,000 members and has been flooded with comments of encouragement since the disaster. The Ninth Island, of course, is Las Vegas.
“Take care of the group & its members. Treat everyone with Aloha, be kind, courteous, and respectful,” the group instructs its members.
That mantra is a way of life, Agatonu said.
“A lot of people from Hawaii have moved here for work opportunities, but you always have that spirit in your heart,” he said. “Your first reaction is, how can I help? How can I get involved? That’s what makes our community special.”
The blaze that swept into centuries-old Lahaina nearly a week ago destroyed nearly every building in the town of 13,000, leaving a grid of gray rubble wedged between the blue ocean and lush green slopes. That fire has been 85% contained as of Monday, according to Maui County, while the Upcountry fire has been 60% contained.
“There’s very little left there,” Hawaii Gov. Josh Green said about Lahaina in a video update Sunday, adding that “an estimated value of $5.6 billion has gone away.”
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
