PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — Gulfport resident Sarah Bedell had only returned from Maui a few days before wildfires ravaged part of the island she once called home. 

As a Maui native, Bedell knew she had to do something. She and her husband bought a second home in Maui so their three children could have the same experiences she did growing up, and Bedell says her mom, aunt and many close friends still live there. 

“I just felt helpless,” she said. “I asked my husband if I could figure it out because I want to be there and I want to help.” 

After speaking with her friends and neighbors on Maui, she found a way she could help. Bedell decided to start an online fundraiser where she could collect funds in the states and get that money to her friends quickly so they could purchase and distribute what Maui residents needed most. 

“Our team, I call it our team, it’s actually friends and neighbors… they are getting up every morning and seeing what the greatest need is. It started with food and water, and every day it’s kind of changed,” she said.

Bedell says much of the help right now is coming from fellow residents who understand the roads and know how to access the area. It’s her friends and neighbors who are going into the hardest hit areas, asking what they need, and bringing the supplies back. It’s being paid for with the donations Bedell is helping to collect.

“They’re local, so they’re able to get in through the back road and reach the places that have no electricity and no way to reach the donation hubs,” she said. 

At first, the immediate needs were food and water. Now, residents are asking for gloves, hazmat suits and equipment to sift and dig. New clothes, shoes and luggage are also in high demand. 

“The aloha spirit is a real thing,” she said. “It’s just a special and beautiful place and in the darkness there’s definitely a whole lot of light that’s come out of this.”

Bedell’s team has also created partnerships with three clothing companies who have shipped boxes of new clothes to Maui, that her friends and neighbors are distributing. She’s hoping to create more partnerships like that, in addition to individual donations. 

“There’s a lot of people who can’t make a phone call still. There’s no internet connection. So we’re really trying to reach those people,” she said.

GoFundMe.com, or any other third-party online fundraiser, is not managed by Spectrum Bay News 9 or Spectrum News 13. For more information on how GoFundMe works and its rules, visit http://www.gofundme.com/safety.