Scouts help pack PPE for fire survivors
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Scouts from Maui gathered Oct. 1 in Kahului to put together personal protective equipment reentry kits for fire survivors returning to their properties.
Julie Evans, the district director for the Maui Nui District, said it was a joint effort by the Maui Nui District, Aloha Council Boy Scouts of America and Maui Rapid Response.
The PPE was donated to the Boy Scouts of Maui from Direct Relief, a nonprofit from California, Evans said. There were also donations shipped to them from Scout units from all over the U.S.
In addition to the Scouts, there have been volunteers from different groups helping with the kits on different dates at the old Lowe's store at Maui Marketplace in Kahului.
The agencies involved with the cleanup and reentry process requested 26,000 kits. Evans said she is not sure if they will hit the 26,000 goal but figures they will be close to that number.
She said she has had two "magnificent volunteers" -- Jamie Wright, who helped Evans procure, take inventory and track all of the PPE that was being shipped to Maui, and Glenn Kitagawa, who helped with coordinating shipments, moving and logistics and warehousing.
Both the older Boy Scouts and younger Cub Scouts have been volunteering.
The Scouts have been working closely with Tamara Li Farnsworth form Maui Rapid Response on the coordination of assembly and volunteers. Evans said they have been on many conference calls with all agencies involved in the reentry and cleanup process to coordinate the effort.
The Scouts have also built more than 150 sifter boxes for families and the aid organization Samaritan's Purse to use to recover valuables in the ash.