It can be tricky, figuring out when and how much sports should be considered amid recovery from a tragic community disaster of such extreme magnitude.

Hawaii business and sports leaders have answered. They say the time is now, with Wednesday’s announcement of pledges totalling $325,000 and hundreds of thousands more in goods and services to help Lahainaluna High School sports get back on their feet.

The “Luna Strong” fundraising campaign was organized by the Downtown Athletic Club of Hawaii and announced in a news release Wednesday.

Specifically, much of the aid is directed toward the roughly 90% of Lahainaluna’s 500 student-athletes and 40 coaches who lost their homes in the Aug. 8 wildfire that killed more than 100 people and leveled Lahaina.

They will get help to replace sports equipment and supplies lost when their homes were destroyed in the fire, part of an estimated $6 billion in property loss.

Also, with Hawaiian Airlines, Pagoda Hotel, Enterprise Rent a Car, and Zippy’s as sponsors, the campaign plans to cover the airline, hotel, ground transportation, and meal costs for all Lahainaluna state tournament teams in the 2023-24 school year.

Lahainaluna athletic director Jon Conrad contacted DACH president Keith Amemiya two weeks ago.

Since 2012, the DACH has helped sports programs like Molokai and Lanai high schools, which were in dire need of help with transportation costs in 2014.

Amemiya is no stranger to fundraising, having also started a successful “Save Our Sports” campaign in 2009, when he was executive director of the Hawaii High School Athletic Association, and prep sports were feeling the effects of a recession. He has also generated funding for recent mayoral and lieutenant governor elections, both of which he finished as runner-up in crowded fields.

But even he is pleasantly surprised at how much has been pledged at just the beginning of this sports-specific effort, at a time when donation fatigue could be creeping into a community with less generosity than Hawaii.

“So many have already stepped up in support of those in need on Maui to provide basic goods and services,” said Amemiya, who is also executive director of the Central Pacific Bank Foundation, which is donating $50,000. “So we’re hoping that the Luna Strong funds will allow the Luna student-athletes and coaches to resume pursuing their passions and to bring at least some sense of normalcy and optimism to them and the rest of the Lahaina community.

“We’re not trying to act like we’re saving the day,” he added. “We’re just joining the club.”

The campaign will also facilitate sale of “Luna Strong” T-shirts, with proceeds benefiting the school’s athletes and coaches.

In addition to those mentioned above, these donations launched the campaign:

>> Hawaii Community Foundation’s Maui Strong Fund ($100,000);

>> Oahu Interscholastic Association ($75,000);

>> Bank of Hawaii ($35,000);

>> American Savings Bank ($25,000);

>> First Hawaiian Bank ($25,000);

>> Hawaii Pacific Health ($5,000);

>> Marcus Mariota (cleats for all football players, shoes for all football coaches, $10,000 to the Luna football program);

>> Nike/Iolani Classic (shoes and supplies/equipment for all basketball players);

>> Shane Victorino (cleats and other supplies/equipment for all baseball and softball players);

>> Mark Rolfing (equipment/supplies for all golfers);

>> Young Brothers (four shipping containers to store athletic equipment/supplies).

Donations to the Luna Strong Fund by other companies and the public are encouraged and can be made online at downtownathleticclubhawaii.org or by check payable to DACH – Luna Strong Fund and mailed to P.O. Box 3590, Honolulu, HI, 96811.

For more information on DACH and the Luna Strong Fund, go to downtownathleticclubhawaii.org.