Couple raising money from Lexington businesses to support wildfire-ravaged Hawaii

As of Monday evening, 111 people are dead, with thousands missing. A couple from the island who just moved to lexington a few months ago is collecting donations from area businesses to the community back home. The couple moved to the Bluegrass a few months ago for UK’s medical school, and now their attention is pulled four thousand miles away to Hawaii. 26-year-old Alexander Muto is a medical student at UK and is from wildfire-ravaged Lahaina, where the governor of Hawaii says there is very little left.
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“Their school was burned down, and then their place of worship was burned down. It spread so fast no one had time to evacuate, so it was complete and under chaos,” Alexander said.
Alexander and his wife Kristen are part of Ignite A Life Foundation. It’s a non-profit Alexander founded when he was 15 years old to help close the economic gap between the have’s and the have-nots on the island. Now, they are raising money from Lexington businesses for supplies for those who have nothing left after the wildfire. One business that responded to the distress signal is Big Kahuna Hawaiian BBQ.
“Luckily, we here are in the position to help some people in need,” said Big Kahuna Owner Harry Ginsberg. On Friday, saturday and Sunday, Harry Ginsberg is donating one dollar per plate plus a lump sum of money to the Ignite A Life Foundation. His goal is to raise $3,000.

Bradley Taylor with Bad Ass Coffee of Hawaii says that next week, there will be several fundraisers for the island, including selling “Love for Maui” mugs and stickers, with all proceeds from those sales going toward Hawaii relief organizations. Both lexington stores will participate.