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13 local restaurants and groups raising funds for victims of the Lahaina wildfires
Lahaina wildfire relief efforts
There is a song that the aunties and uncles, garnished with leis, play on ukulele with venerable vibrato as they roam through beachside restaurants while tourists sip Mai Tais and locals cash in on a kama’aina discount with a sunset view that’s not from their home lanai. It’s called “Lahainaluna,” and it goes like this: “I am going to the island of the valley / To Lahaina / Lahainaluna / They say that Maui nō ka ‘oi and I agree / Maui nō ka ‘oi is the only place for me / Maui nō ka ‘oi.”This is the Hawaiian motto of the Valley Isle, which translates to “Maui is the best.” These words to this simple song could not hit harder now that the historic town of Lahaina is gone, its people displaced, homes lost, and life tragically cut short.If you’re looking for ways to help those affected by the wildfire, here are 13 San Diego-based events and ongoing fundraisers to help aid those across Maui, ranging from Lahaina to Kihei and Kula.
Cohn Restaurant Group Maui Lahaina Wildfire Relief
Courtesy of Cohn Restaurant Group
With two locations on the west side of Maui, Cohn Restaurant Group is giving funds directly to their displaced employees. To assist their employees, they have created a GoFundMe page, where 100 percent of the donations will go directly to CRG Maui staff. The Cohn family themselves will be matching the donations up to $100,000.
This 46-year-old restaurant group started with a humble, waterfront restaurant that took place in a former Lahaina gas station. They called it Kimo’s. Sadly, this Lahaina institution did not survive the fire, but the restaurants’ more than 700 employees are safe and accounted for, despite several losing their homes.The group behind Kimo’s, TS Restaurants, has two San Diego locations in Duke’s La Jolla and Jake’s Del Mar. They are accepting donations for their 501c3 nonprofit Legacy of Aloha, which will give grants to the employees of Kimo’s, Hula Grill, Leilani’s, Duke’s, and Maui Brewing Co., all of whom have been affected by the fire, with some losing their homes or being displaced. The fundraiser will also donate any remaining funds to other accredited nonprofits benefiting Maui residents.
Jimmy’s knew they wanted to help a Maui family. After contacting friends on island, the owners learned the story of Josh Gruber, a father and husband, has been working tirelessly as a Lahaina firefighter to help the community in this time of crisis. To help him and his family, Jimmy’s in Point Loma will be donating 10 percent of its restaurant sales for the remaining Wednesdays in August: 23 and 30 (and previously August 16) to the Gruber family.
Bend The Elbow For Lahaina Event Maui Fundraising
Courtesy of Eventbrite
At its four San Diego locations, along with every store nationwide, Raising Cane’s will donate 15 percent of their profits to Ka Hale A Ke Ola Homeless Resource Center (KHAKO), a Maui-based shelter located in Lahaina supporting those displaced by the wildfires. The funds will also be used in the rebuilding efforts of the shelter’s Westside Center, a 78-unit housing center that was completely lost in the fire.
SD Art Advisory is hosting a silent auction on the first floor at their Mission Hills gallery, featuring local artists. Any artists looking to be involved must submit their application to the AD Art Advisory Facebook or Instagram page by Thursday, August 17. In solidarity with the Hawai’i Community Foundation, 100 percent of proceeds will go to the Maui Strong Fund.
Bar One, Little Italy’s oldest watering hole will be bringing the aloha to India Street, hosting featured cocktails and a $5 raffle doling out rare bottles, gift cards from local restaurants (such as CH Projects), and a $25 raffle for two sets of tickets to a Padres game—one of which is all-inclusive with free parking, drinks, and seat in the visitors dugout. Sponsored by El Silencio, Campari, Remy Cointreau, and Elijah Craig, all proceeds will go to Maui Rapid Response.
Board & Brew’s 12 locations (except for Petco Park) will be donating 10 percent of all sales—whether that’s dine-in, pick-up, or delivery—directly to Maui Strong Fund. They’re hoping to achieve a goal of $50,000 and the fundraiser goes from Saturday, August 19 to Sunday, August 20.
Local MMA fighter and former Hawai’i resident, Ilima-Lei MacFarlane, has been helping secure donations and is now organizing a benefit concert to aid Maui residents. There will be food and drink, vendors, DJs, and live music from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. at Rawmana Fitness. There will also be several direct Venmo QR codes for donations to specific, affected families.
From 4:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., local band Whiskey & Burlap will be holding a benefit show to help raise funds. The show will take place at The Garten, an outdoor, multi-vendor event space in Bay Park that includes Lost Cause Meadery, Deft Brewing, Pizza Cassette and Oddish Wine. 100% of Whiskey & Burlaps proceeds will go to the Maui Strong Foundation. In addition, Lost Cause Meadery has a special sparkling mead made with Lehua Blossom honey from Hawai’i and they will be donating 100 percent of proceeds from that mead to the Maui Strong Foundation, as well.
Supporting Maui’s displaced and affected hospitality workers, Kingfisher will be serving a special poke dish and Starward Whisky cocktails with proceeds going directly to Legacy of Aloha. To-go orders can be placed in advance through Tock for pick-up from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., and the poke will also be available at dinner service. A late-night version, sans rice will also be available after 9:30 p.m.In addition to sending 100 percent of the proceeds to benefit restaurant employees, Starward Whisky will be matching cocktail proceeds. A raffle for special bottles starts at 11 p.m.
Campestre Productions presents “Bend the Elbow for Lahaina,” an event that aims to support hospitality workers affected by the Lahaina fires. $50 of every ticket sold will go directly to Legacy of Aloha. Natural wines will be poured while Janina Garay, the culinary director at Be Saha, will be providing passed bites. There will also be a raffle featuring curated experiences, art, and gift cards to local establishments. Tickets are $75 per person. Raffle tickets are sold separately.
The Asian Business Association Foundation along with San Diego City Councilmember Kent Lee, Pacific Arts Movement and the San Diego API Coalition is inviting you to help support Maui residents affected by the devastating fires with this event at The Cork and Craft. Tickets are $50 and include a drink ticket and appetizers.Hawaii Community Foundation (HCF) Maui Strong Fund will get 100 percent of the proceeds. Funding will address evolving needs, including shelter, food, financial assistance and other services as they are identified by on-the-ground partners doing critical work on Maui.
False Idol is turning its Mandatory Mug Monday into Mandatory Maui Monday, with a fundraiser that will send half of the night’s sales to Legacy of Aloha. Campari and Kuleana Rum will be sponsoring the event featuring specialty cocktails as well as a silent auction for exclusive tiki mugs.
Danielle is a freelance culture journalist focusing on music, food, wine, hospitality, and arts, and founder-playwright of Yeah No Yeah Theatre company, based in San Diego. Her work has been featured in FLAUNT, Filter Magazine, and San Diego Magazine. Born and raised in Maui, she still loves a good Mai Tai.
The 24-year-old nonprofit helps teens celebrate the milestone while promoting fashion sustainability
Prom is a rite of passage for high schoolers, but a flashy new dress can cost hundreds of dollars. The Princess Project helps girls cut costs while promoting fashion sustainability. The nonprofit collects new and gently used formal dresses and accessories throughout the year, then when prom season rolls around, launches pop-up boutiques where girls can shop for their dream dress at no cost. The only criteria is they have to be a high school student who’s going to prom.
The Princess Project started in San Francisco in 2002 with a small dress drive. The movement grew exponentially over the years, and expanded to San Diego in 2008. Today, it’s headquartered at Parkway Plaza in El Cajon and has chapters in San Francisco, Silicon Valley, and Sonoma.
“We really want to celebrate teens, make them feel good about themselves, and save them some money because it costs a lot to go to prom. This is one way that we can help alleviate the cost,” says Karen Martin-Spellerberg, corporate board chairman and head of the San Diego chapter. “There’s no financial requirement to come get a dress with us because we are all about everybody being equal and having the same opportunity.”
The experience is more than just picking out a dress, says Martin-Spellerberg. The Princess Project works to create a bubble of inclusiveness and confidence, where all shapes and sizes are celebrated, and all comments are positive.
In the months leading up to prom season, teens can book an hour-long appointment at the Parkway Plaza location to try on dresses and accessories, which they get to keep. Volunteers act as personal shoppers, curating an experience unique to each kid. This year, the Princess Projects also brought dresses to eight library branches throughout San Diego County to reach girls who couldn’t make it to the main event.
Because the Princess Project relies on donations, they often do not receive enough dresses in “fringe sizes” (00-2 and 14 and up), so they hold fundraising events to purchase new dresses in those specific sizes to maintain an inclusive range. Its signature $5 Dress Sale Fundraiser event will take place on May 30-31 at Parkway Plaza, where non-prom dresses (cocktail, casual, business) donated throughout the year are sold for a minimum $5 donation per dress. All proceeds from this fundraiser are used to purchase the understocked sizes.
“We’ve got dress drop off sites throughout San Diego County and people sometimes will donate dresses that are non-prom—sometimes they’re cocktail, casual, summer, business. So, what happens is when we are done with the season, we flip our dress store and we put out all of the non-prom dresses,” says Martin-Spellerberg. “People can come shop and get as many dresses as they want and 100 percent of the proceeds go toward us purchasing dresses in the sizes we don’t have enough of.”
The Princess Project also relies heavily on volunteers, including teen ambassadors, the latter who meet monthly, help organize the store, work outreach tables, and host a fashion show to help spread the word to their fellow students that the dresses are premium-quality and “ready to wear, beautiful and amazing.”
“It’s all about kindness and making kids feel good about themselves,” says Martin-Spellerberg.
Sarah Sapeda is San Diego Magazine’s Custom Content Editor. In her 15 years in San Diego journalism, she has covered charitable events, health care, education, crime, current events, and more.
Here’s where to celebrate, connect, give back, and make a difference this month
St. Germaine Children’s Charity will host its annual grant awards dinner at the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego. The grant funds that will be donated to local agencies that work to end child abuse were raised at various St. Germaine Children’s Charity fundraisers and events throughout the year.
Help San Diego seniors age gracefully at Senior Prom: Forever Young, a fundraiser for Meals on Wheels San Diego County. The retro school dance-themed gala at the Kona Kai San Diego Resort will help the nonprofit continue to deliver daily nutritious meals and friendly visits to local seniors.
San Diego nonprofit GenerateHope and international charity Freedom Challenge will host a 45-mile, three-day walk from Oceanside to Coronado to help combat human trafficking. Funds raised will go toward Freedom Challenge’s work around the world and GenerateHope’s local programs that serve survivors of sex trafficking.
Roughly 300 guests will gather at a private residence in Solana Beach for bites prepared by San Diego’s top sustainable chefs, along with fine wine, craft beer, and small batch mezcal and tequila to support coastal conservation in the U.S. and Mexico. Funds raised at Wildcoast’s Baja Bash will help expand its programs in 2026 and beyond.
Local law enforcement, first responders, and military personnel will face off in a boxing match aboard the USS Midway Museum to raise money for the Community Youth Athletic Center. Now in its 21st year, the Battle of the Badges supports CYAC’s boxing programs for underprivileged youth.
Sarah Sapeda is San Diego Magazine’s Custom Content Editor. In her 15 years in San Diego journalism, she has covered charitable events, health care, education, crime, current events, and more.
The 50-year-old nonprofit provides transitional housing and financial literacy services to youth leaving the system
For young adults transitioning out of foster care, housing instability is often among the greatest challenges they face. This, along with underemployment or unemployment and a sudden lack of support and resources, significantly increases the likelihood that they will ultimately slip through the cracks.
Walden Family Services, a 50-year-old nonprofit that helps find stable, supportive home environments for local youth in foster care, is addressing the problem head-on through transitional housing programs that integrate financial literacy, case management, and life-skills development to help young adults learn how to live independently.
“It was pretty much a foster care to homelessness pipeline—or prison,” says Teresa Stivers, Walden Family Services CEO. In response, Walden Family Services launched an initiative called Independent Futures to help clients between 18 and 21 acclimate to their newfound independence. There’s also an extended care program for those ages 22 to 24.
Clients are provided furnished housing, food, and job training, and learn basic life skills, like how to cook and grocery shop, save money, pay bills, and budget. They pay rent that’s deposited into a savings account and matched by Walden Family Services. Clients are also required to work, attend school, or do a combination of both for 40 hours a week.
Roughly 90 percent of existing clients live in safe, sustainable housing, 83 percent maintain stable employment, and 83 percent leave the program with significant savings.
“There’s a reason why every young person in this country can be on their parents’ health benefits until 26. Research shows that’s about how long it takes for someone to fully take off—and that’s for somebody who grew up with their parents and maybe went to college,” says Stivers. “As you can imagine, it’s more difficult for someone who went from family to family, school to school, exiting at 18 without a diploma.”
The program’s success stories exemplify its impact, Stivers says. Clients have gone on to become entrepreneurs, advocates, scholars, and loving parents who break the cycle of child abuse and neglect. Many also want to give back and help other kids in the foster care system. Walden Family Services is working to develop an alumni program and build a mentoring component into its transitional program.
“We’ve done all kinds of peer mentoring, peer therapy, and have a lot of staff members who grew up in our program or have lived experience, and it’s been really impactful. So now we want to formalize that program for our alumni and give our graduates an opportunity to help other folks,” Stivers says.
Walden is also looking ahead, focusing on expanding housing partnerships, strengthening prevention efforts, and increasing community involvement to meet growing demand. However, rising housing costs and funding constraints are taking their toll on nonprofits like Walden Family Services.
“It’s challenging for all of us,” Stivers says. “We are all still trying to provide the best care that we can with the limited dollars.”
Those considering ways to help can make a monetary donation to the organization or attend a fundraising event like the Walden Family Services’ “There’s No Place Like Home” gala on April 30 at The Thursday Club. The organization is currently looking for volunteers to host activities or training sessions for clients, help out in the office, serve on the board, or participate in holiday drives. If you’re a local property owner, they’re also looking for partnerships with those willing to rent reasonably priced apartments to their clients.
“There are so many things that people can do to make an investment in their community,” Stivers says. “Many people don’t realize that there are children in their own backyard who are going hungry, who are sad and scared and lonely, and that they can make a difference. We hope that people will do that so we can all benefit.”
Sarah Sapeda is San Diego Magazine’s Custom Content Editor. In her 15 years in San Diego journalism, she has covered charitable events, health care, education, crime, current events, and more.
The annual event honors middle market companies creating jobs, scaling up, and investing in the region
San Diego is known for its startup culture and innovation economy, but what happens when the company moves beyond its early-stage years? The San Diego Business Impact Awards aim to answer that question, spotlighting the middle market businesses helping drive the region’s economy.
Hosted by San Diego Regional Economic Development Corporation (EDC) and JPMorganChase, the second annual awards celebration takes place on Thursday, July 23, from 4:30 to 7:00 p.m. at Scripps Research Auditorium. More than 200 executives, entrepreneurs, and business leaders are expected to attend the networking and cocktail event honoring some of San Diego County’s fastest-growing companies.
Businesses headquartered in San Diego County that have operated for at least two years are encouraged to submit their nomination by Thursday, June 18 at 4 p.m. Companies across industries—from technology and life sciences to tourism and consumer products, as well as pre-revenue startups—are eligible for recognition.
For EDC President and CEO Mark Cafferty, the event is as much about building connections as celebrating success. “We’ve had a longtime partnership with JPMorganChase; their work aligns with our efforts to support underserved communities and drive talent development,” says Cafferty. “And the networking was invaluable last year. I’m still in touch with people I met at last year’s awards.”
EDC is an independently-funded nonprofit that works directly with San Diego companies to help them grow the local economy, make the region as a whole more competitive, and attract and retain top-tier talent with quality jobs. Through EDC, companies can get help starting or expanding their business with support for things like site selection, permit navigation, and regulatory guidance, plus connections to local resources and potential business collaborators.
The San Diego Business Impact Awards began as an idea with one of EDC’s longtime strategic partners, JPMorganChase. The two organizations share a commitment to San Diego and are dedicated to bolstering middle market businesses.
“We’re blessed with a robust innovation economy and startup community,” says Aaron Ryan, San Diego Region Manager for JPMorgan’s Commercial and Investment Bank and vice chair of the firm’s’ San Diego Market Leadership Team. “But one of the segments of the business community we felt was overlooked was emerging middle market companies—the businesses that are no longer small but not yet large.”
Ryan says supporting those companies is critical as they scale and decide where to invest, hire, and grow.
San Diego’s high cost of living remains one of the region’s biggest business challenges, making talent recruitment and retention increasingly competitive. But local leaders point to the region’s quality of life, climate, and collaborative business community as advantages that continue to attract employers and workers.
“In order to support thriving households, there has to be enough high-quality jobs for people to be able to afford to live here,” Cafferty says. “Once a company grows and excels past that middle market point in their growth cycle, they become much more likely to pay higher wages and compete globally.”
Both Cafferty and Ryan proudly tout the unique collaboration that exists among San Diego County businesses. Bringing together top universities producing high-quality talent, cutting-edge research institutions, a robust military and defense presence, leading ocean science and environmental organizations, and a binational, cross-border identity creates a distinct business ecosystem that defines and strengthens the San Diego region.
Last year’s San Diego Business Impact Awards celebrated nearly 60 honorees from 49 industries, representing a total of 8,232 jobs across eight sectors, including: software and technology, healthcare and life sciences, consumer goods, professional services, finance, construction and manufacturing, defense, and hospitality and tourism. On average, honoree companies doubled their revenues over the previous year, employed more than 145 San Diegans each, and offered an average annual compensation of $192,415.
Top honorees included defense contractor Innoflight, environmental consulting firm Bancroft Construction Services, life sciences startup Element Biosciences, defense technology contractor GALT Aerospace, organic grocery store chain Jimbo’s, and biopharmaceutical company LENZ Therapeutics. During the event, Innoflight Founder and CEO Jeff Janicik held a fireside chat offering his insights on investing in the community and embracing San Diego culture.
This year, organizers hope to continue highlighting the middle market players driving economic impact across the region. Nominations are now open through June 18 at 4 p.m. Get your tickets to the San Diego Business Impact Awards celebration to enjoy drinks by Snake Oil Cocktail Co., light bites, live music, and networking.
The annual fundraiser helped provide university scholarships for women in low-income countries
On April 11, San Diego–based nonprofit U-GO hosted a fundraiser at Cucina 2051 in Carlsbad to support women in low-income countries pursuing higher education. The U-GO San Diego Wine Dinner raised money to fund university scholarships for young women from underserved communities around the world.
Photo Credit: Madilynn Saige Photo
Sarah Sapeda is San Diego Magazine’s Custom Content Editor. In her 15 years in San Diego journalism, she has covered charitable events, health care, education, crime, current events, and more.
Water and Kindness provides unhoused San Diegans with water, clothing, and community
Clean drinking water is essential. But for San Diegans who are unhoused, access to portable water isn’t always guaranteed. Water and Kindness has distributed more than 3,000 reusable water bottles—each with a custom-printed label with information on local food pantries, and resources for clothing and other necessities. Water and Kindness also operates a pop-up “free store” and hosts monthly clothing swaps (note that clothing donations are not accepted in advance).
The nonprofit depends on a mutual aid network and volunteers like Kathryn Cox to reach as many people as possible. Here, Cox shares what she loves about volunteering for Water and Kindness and how the organization is helping build community.
My partner has known Jess [Stephens, Water and Kindness founder,] for decades. We were out at a cycling event and were catching up, and she mentioned that she had started this nonprofit about distributing water and clothing. I had just cleaned out my closet and had been trying to figure out what to do with all these clothes and I had already been handing out water on hot days in my neighborhood. Jess said she’d planned to start doing a free store clothing swap. I had three bags full of clothes that I brought to the first clothing swap, and I’ve been at every clothing swap since.
I probably do a little more than most people just because I have taken on a bigger role and do grant work, but that’s not the fun stuff that other volunteers would probably want to jump in on. The biggest things that we have are our three water distribution locations where people can pick up a case of water with information about food pantries and their weekly schedules. And then what I do, the clothing swap, which is the last Saturday of every month, and we have a free store every Saturday that has hygiene supplies, diapers, baby formula, first aid stuff, and blankets.
Getting to know people. I’m an introvert, but once you start to get comfortable in the space, it’s fun to help people find stuff that helps them. For instance, I’ve randomly found pieces of clothing that I could tell would look amazing on somebody—I work in retail so I don’t know if that’s the part of me that likes people to get new stuff and be happy about it. Like there was an older guy with a walker who came in with a friend and it was a cool jacket. He was stoked afterwards and his friend was hyping him up the whole time. Another person was excited that they found a pair of boots, but they were in black pants and like a black spaghetti tank top. We had this really cool blazer with embroidery on it and kind of a Stevie Nicks vibe, and a leather cowboy hat, too. I was like, This would look so cool on them. They put it on, and were like, “I didn’t know I could look this good.” It’s such a cool experience.
Getting the word out. On some of the clothing swap days we have a community fair with other organizations or community partners who come in and have tables with their information. And sometimes we’ll get a lot more donations and we don’t always have as many people to shop all of those clothes.
There’s one specific person who stood out because he came in and was really excited that we had clothes because what he had in his bag was all that he had. I got to pull some clothes, and his style was not my style, but I got a feel for it. I picked up this white pair of jeans that were embroidered on the butt with studs and stuff, and I held them up and he was like, “How did you know?” And then he got this pink zip-up hoodie and some other shirt. He went into the bathroom to change into the new outfit and came out and was so excited. He showed off everything and did spins.
Community support is super needed right now. Building community is hopefully going to make things a little bit easier as time goes on. But beyond that, I don’t like doing things that are new, so, I very much understand any hesitation with that. If there is somebody who’s interested but still nervous, they could message us on Instagram and ask for a little extra support. I know the people with anxiety probably feel more comfortable knowing ahead of time that things are going to be okay. Volunteers have amazing hearts and some great personalities. It’s a great community where you can make good friends and enjoy giving back.
*Responses edited for length and clarity.
Sarah Sapeda is San Diego Magazine’s Custom Content Editor. In her 15 years in San Diego journalism, she has covered charitable events, health care, education, crime, current events, and more.
Scripps study shows that some patients may be able to taper their dose and maintain results
While glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agents have been used to treat Type 2 diabetes for more than 20 years, their recent emergence as weight-loss wonder drugs marked a new frontier in medicine. But their effectiveness has left some patients wondering what to do once they’ve reached their goal. Stopping the medication could mean regaining some, if not all, of the weight. A Scripps Clinic internal medicine physician recently conducted a small study of whether GLP-1 patients who had reached their goal weight could maintain that weight by taking their regularly prescribed injection every other week instead of weekly. Spoiler alert: 30 of 34 patients did. Read more about the study here and what that may mean as pharmaceutical companies roll out oral GLP-1s.
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