Subscribe Login
Jamaica Observer
ePaper
The Edge 105 FM Radio Fyah 105 FM
Jamaica Observer
ePaper
The Edge 105 FM Radio Fyah 105 FM
    • Home
    • News
      • Latest News
      • Cartoon
      • International News
      • Central
      • North & East
      • Western
      • Environment
      • Health
      • #
    • Business
      • Social Love
    • Sports
      • Football
      • Basketball
      • Cricket
      • Horse Racing
      • World Champs
      • Commonwealth Games
      • FIFA World Cup 2022
      • Olympics
      • #
    • Entertainment
      • Music
      • Movies
      • Art & Culture
      • Bookends
      • #
    • Lifestyle
      • Page2
      • Food
      • Tuesday Style
      • Food Awards
      • JOL Takes Style Out
      • Design Week JA
      • Black Friday
      • #
    • All Woman
      • Home
      • Relationships
      • Features
      • Fashion
      • Fitness
      • Rights
      • Parenting
      • Advice
      • #
    • Obituaries
    • Classifieds
      • Employment
      • Property
      • Motor Vehicles
      • Place an Ad
      • Obituaries
    • More
      • Games
      • Elections
      • Jobs & Careers
      • Study Centre
      • Jnr Study Centre
      • Letters
      • Columns
      • Advertorial
      • Editorial
      • Supplements
      • Webinars
    • Home
    • News
      • Latest News
      • Cartoon
      • International News
      • Central
      • North & East
      • Western
      • Environment
      • Health
      • #
    • Business
      • Social Love
    • Sports
      • Football
      • Basketball
      • Cricket
      • Horse Racing
      • World Champs
      • Commonwealth Games
      • FIFA World Cup 2022
      • Olympics
      • #
    • Entertainment
      • Music
      • Movies
      • Art & Culture
      • Bookends
      • #
    • Lifestyle
      • Page2
      • Food
      • Tuesday Style
      • Food Awards
      • JOL Takes Style Out
      • Design Week JA
      • Black Friday
      • #
    • All Woman
      • Home
      • Relationships
      • Features
      • Fashion
      • Fitness
      • Rights
      • Parenting
      • Advice
      • #
    • Obituaries
    • Classifieds
      • Employment
      • Property
      • Motor Vehicles
      • Place an Ad
      • Obituaries
    • More
      • Games
      • Elections
      • Jobs & Careers
      • Study Centre
      • Jnr Study Centre
      • Letters
      • Columns
      • Advertorial
      • Editorial
      • Supplements
      • Webinars
  • Home
  • News
    • International News
  • Latest
  • Business
  • Cartoon
  • Games
  • Food Awards
  • Health
  • Entertainment
    • Bookends
  • Regional
  • Sports
    • Sports
    • World Cup
    • World Champs
    • Olympics
  • All Woman
  • Career & Education
  • Environment
  • Webinars
  • More
    • Football
    • Elections
    • Letters
    • Advertorial
    • Columns
    • Editorial
    • Supplements
  • Epaper
  • Classifieds
  • Design Week
Oprah Winfrey and Dwayne Johnson launch fund with $10 million for displaced Maui residents
Dwayne Johnson attends the world premiere of “Black Adam” in New York on October 12, 2022, left, and Oprah Winfrey appears at the Essence Festival of Culture in New Orleans on June 30, 2023. Johnson and Winfrey have committed $10 million to make direct payments to people on Maui who are unable to return to their homes because of the wildfires. (AP Photo)
Latest News
August 31, 2023

Oprah Winfrey and Dwayne Johnson launch fund with $10 million for displaced Maui residents

Oprah Winfrey and Dwayne Johnson have committed $10 million to make direct payments to people on Maui who are unable to return to their homes because of the wildfires, through a new fund they announced Thursday.

The People’s Fund of Maui will give $1,200 a month to adults who are not able to return to their primary residences because of the recent wildfires, including people who owned and rented their homes, according to the fund’s website. The fund will also seek donations to extend the length of time it can provide the support.

“How do we help?” the “Young Rock” star said he and Winfrey asked each other during the wildfires, saying in a video released along with the announcement that they grappled with how to best direct their efforts. “You want to take care of the greatest need of the people, and that’s giving them money.”

They are looking forward to the help of “every person who called me and said, ‘What can I do?’” Winfrey said in the video. “This is what you can do.”

The pair were inspired by a similar fund set up by Dolly Parton after wildfires swept through Gatlinburg, Tennessee in December 2016, killing 14 people and destroying 2,400 structures.

Jeff Conyers, president of The Dollywood Foundation, said he consulted with Winfrey’s team multiple times in the past weeks to share the lessons that they’d learned from administrating the fund, which eventually granted $11 million to families who had lost their homes.

“Dolly’s idea was that, ‘Hey, look, these are my people and I want to take care of them and we trust them to know what recovery looks like for themselves and their families in the days and weeks following this immediate catastrophe here,’” Conyers said.

Parton’s fund, called My People Fund, worked with first responders and a local utility company and asked residents to help them determine which structures were destroyed and who lived in those homes, Conyers said. Around 1,000 families eventually received assistance from the fund, according to an evaluation from the University of Tennessee Knoxville College of Social Work. That included a final $5,000 lump sum transfer at the end of six months.

To qualify for the People’s Fund of Maui, applicants must show a government ID and a utility bill in their name for a lost or uninhabitable residence, the fund’s website said.

Winfrey, who lives on Maui part-time, visited an emergency shelter on Maui in the days after the wildfire hit and worried about effectively getting resources to residents. At least 115 people were killed in the fires, though an unknown number are still missing. The fire that ripped through the historic town of Lahaina on August 8 was the deadliest in the US in more than a century.

{"website":"website"}{"jamaica-observer":"Jamaica Observer"}
img img
0 Comments · Make a comment

ALSO ON JAMAICA OBSERVER

Nickyle Ellis bags brace as Racing whip Cavalier 4-1
Latest News, Sports
Nickyle Ellis bags brace as Racing whip Cavalier 4-1
December 14, 2025
KINGSTON, Jamaica – Nickyle Ellis scored a first half brace as Racing United beat defending champions Cavalier 4-1 in their Jamaica Premier League fir...
{"jamaica-observer":"Jamaica Observer"}
Cindy Rose wins 800m at US college meet
Latest News, Sports
Cindy Rose wins 800m at US college meet
December 14, 2025
Former Holmwood Technical star Cindy Rose won the women’s 800m at the Iowa State University Holiday Invitational on Friday for her first win as a US c...
{"jamaica-observer":"Jamaica Observer"}
Keith and Tex still flying flag for rocksteady
Entertainment, Latest News
Keith and Tex still flying flag for rocksteady
December 14, 2025
With 2026 marking the 60th year since the birth of rocksteady, not many of that genre’s stars are still around. Keith and Tex, who had several hit son...
{"jamaica-observer":"Jamaica Observer"}
US court convicts former USVI director in landmark bribery scandal
Latest News, Regional
US court convicts former USVI director in landmark bribery scandal
December 14, 2025
CHARLOTTE AMALIE, US Virgin Islands (CMC) – A United States (US) federal jury has convicted the former Director of the US Virgin Islands Office of Man...
{"jamaica-observer":"Jamaica Observer"}
Hero who disarmed Bondi beach shooter identified as fruit vendor
International News, Latest News
Hero who disarmed Bondi beach shooter identified as fruit vendor
December 14, 2025
SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — Australians are hailing a "hero" whose daring struggle with a gunman Sunday led to the disarming of an attacker during the c...
{"jamaica-observer":"Jamaica Observer"}
Death toll rises to 16 in Sydney beach shooting — police
International News, Latest News
Death toll rises to 16 in Sydney beach shooting — police
December 14, 2025
SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — Sixteen people were killed and at least 40 others injured in a shooting at a Jewish festival celebration at Australia's Bond...
{"jamaica-observer":"Jamaica Observer"}
Aventa Jamaica leads Medical Mission in Belmont, Westmoreland
Latest News, News
Aventa Jamaica leads Medical Mission in Belmont, Westmoreland
December 14, 2025
 WESTMORELAND, Jamaica — In the wake of the devastation caused by Hurricane Melissa, Aventa Jamaica Limited led a medical outreach on Saturday, Decemb...
{"jamaica-observer":"Jamaica Observer"}
Jamaican fishermen jailed in Cayman for drug smuggling
Latest News, Regional
Jamaican fishermen jailed in Cayman for drug smuggling
December 14, 2025
GEORGE TOWN, Cayman Islands (CMC) —Two Jamaican fishermen caught with more than 167lbs of marijuana on a boat south of the Cayman Islands earlier this...
{"jamaica-observer":"Jamaica Observer"}
❮ ❯

Polls

HOUSE RULES

  1. We welcome reader comments on the top stories of the day. Some comments may be republished on the website or in the newspaper; email addresses will not be published.
  2. Please understand that comments are moderated and it is not always possible to publish all that have been submitted. We will, however, try to publish comments that are representative of all received.
  3. We ask that comments are civil and free of libellous or hateful material. Also please stick to the topic under discussion.
  4. Please do not write in block capitals since this makes your comment hard to read.
  5. Please don't use the comments to advertise. However, our advertising department can be more than accommodating if emailed: advertising@jamaicaobserver.com.
  6. If readers wish to report offensive comments, suggest a correction or share a story then please email: community@jamaicaobserver.com.
  7. Lastly, read our Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy

Recent Posts

Archives

Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
Tweets

Polls

Recent Posts

Archives

Logo Jamaica Observer
Breaking news from the premier Jamaican newspaper, the Jamaica Observer. Follow Jamaican news online for free and stay informed on what's happening in the Caribbean
Featured Tags
  • Editorial
  • Columns
  • Health
  • Auto
  • Business
  • Letters
  • Page2
  • Football
Categories
  • Business
  • Politics
  • Entertainment
  • Page2
  • Business
  • Politics
  • Entertainment
  • Page2
Ads
img
Jamaica Observer, © All Rights Reserved
  • Home
  • Contact Us
  • RSS Feeds
  • Feedback
  • Privacy Policy
  • Editorial Code of Conduct