Oprah Winfrey and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson are donating $10 million to launch a fund aimed at “putting money directly in the pockets” of people affected by the deadly wildfire that ripped through Maui.
“We were so concerned about what was happening in Maui that we were texting back and forth,” Winfrey, standing alongside “Black Adam” star Johnson, said Wednesday in a video posted on social media.
The Aug. 8 wildfire — the deadliest such event in the U.S. in more than a century — killed at least 115 people and burned through thousands of acres of land.
The former talk show host and Johnson both have homes on the Hawaiian island. Winfrey said she was inspired to help coordinate the fundraising effort, dubbed the People’s Fund of Maui, after reading a story about Dolly Parton aiding victims of a 2016 wildfire in the singer’s Tennessee hometown through her foundation by giving $10,000 to 900 families.
“I read this article that Dolly Parton had given money in her community. And I said, ‘I think this is the answer,’” said Winfrey, 69.
According to Johnson, “Every adult resident who lives in the affected area and was displaced by the wildfires in Lahaina and Kula is eligible to receive $1,200 per month to help them through this period of recovery.”
Residents can apply for the funds via the People’s Fund of Maui’s website. Winfrey and Johnson also made an appeal for donations.
Contributions to the fund will “go to one of many residents who have been displaced in Maui — we guarantee it,” according to Winfrey.
“I know a lot of people out there — as Oprah and I’ve been finding — are just having a hard time trusting where the money goes, what organizations should I send money to, how can I help?” said Johnson, 51. “In this case, the fund that we created — with a lot of hard work from a lot of hardworking people who all care about these people of Maui — as Oprah was saying, it is a clean, direct from you, directly to their hands, and right away, with some real immediacy.”
“With disasters like this, the number one need is money in hand,” Johnson added.
“People being able to have their own agency, being able to make decisions for themselves about what they need and what their family needs: That’s our goal is to get that to the people now,” Winfrey said.