Maui wildfire recovery gets the spotlight thanks to charitable NFT collection

The wildfires in Lahaina, which suffered the largest fires on the island, were 90% contained as of Monday, according to officials

by James Cirrone /

August 22, 2023 12:00 pm

badynivas/Shutterstock modified by Blockworks

The Maui wildfires have been raging since Aug. 8 and continue to wreak devastation on the Hawaiian island.

Maui County confirmed Monday that 115 people have died as a result of the blazes and that an additional 850 individuals are unaccounted for. Furthermore, 2,700 structures have been obliterated by the fires, reducing countless people’s livelihoods and homes to dust.

Ashira Fox, an artist who sells NFTs of her highly digitized still images, or scanographs, is pitching in to help add to the tens of millions of dollars that have already been raised to help Maui recover from this weeks-long natural disaster.

Fox announced a 48 hour NFT open edition on Rarible, which features a scanograph of a white plumeria flower. The flower is common in Maui and tourists can even go on tours to witness its hundreds of varieties.

All proceeds from the sale of the open edition will go to the Maui fund set up by crypto donation firm the Giving Block. The NFTs in the open edition will retail at 0.009 ETH ($15) and are set to drop at 12 pm ET on Tuesday.

Fox also drew attention to the Giving Block’s Maui fund itself, directly linking to it and reminding people that the company is matching the first $500,000 it receives donations, which would get the total to $1 million. The Giving Block has raised over $133,000 as of the publication of this article.

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There are a myriad of other charities — the American Red Cross, the Maui Strong Fund, Maui United Way and others — that are dedicated to getting resources to those who have been displaced or have lost family and friends.

Correction — Aug. 23, 2023 at 7:10 am ET: The NFT mint price is about $15, not $150.

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