Column: What can WE do, today, that will sustain tomorrow?

Aug. 8, 2023, will forever be marked in history as a day of incomprehensible, catastrophic loss for Lahaina and Kula, Maui, and simultaneously, a profound moment that awakened a humanitarian call-to-action for individual and corporate mobilization that was not dependent on a federal first-response. The humanitarian need was (is) immediate. Citizen responsibility was (is) imperative.

What corporations fail to realize is that the origin of effective response starts with a very simple question: “What can WE do, today, that will sustain tomorrow?” That citizen, CEO, corporate question should be considered first and foremost within the home, and then within the workplace, and assessed across all impacted stakeholder industries at large. This is not Maui’s problem to fix; this requires the full engagement of Hawaii’s economic and corporate leadership.

I have called Hawaii home for 45 years with our beginnings first rooted in Lahaina. As my family and I watched the horror of Lahaina being consumed by fire, I turned to my wife and asked, “What can WE do, today, that will sustain tomorrow?” The “we” being a collective of my immediate ohana and BMW of Hawaii, under my leadership. That moment demanded an unquestionable mandate. We must act, and do so, immediately.

I asked that same question to Shaun Bugbee, vice president and COO of BMW North America. In addition to designating BMW of Maui in Kahului as a Red Cross headquarters, and deploying our vehicles to be used for supply missions, I immediately asked our national manufacturing partners to donate all unused BMW (clothing) merchandise, and implored Bugbee to consider a manufacturer-backed cash gift of $500,000. Within one hour, BMW Group doubled my request for Maui aid and committed to $1 million. Zero hesitation. Just the power of YES when asked, “What can WE do, today, that will sustain tomorrow?”

With a long-standing history of collaborative support with The American Red Cross and BMW Group, BMW of Hawaii, which employs more than 225 throughout the state, has now led a Hawaii-inspired corporate response committing to more than $1 million in essential cash funding designated to The American Red Cross Disaster (Maui) Relief Fund.

From global pandemics to natural disasters, economic stakeholders have been charged with a renewed responsibility, and more so, unconventional resourcefulness, to go far beyond economic forecasts and harness the powerful impact of a simple question: “What can WE do, today, that will sustain tomorrow?” While government funding in a natural disaster is essential to American democracy for long-term rehabilitation, it cannot be the first response when it comes to a community in crisis. It MUST begin with a citizen’s individual response, which is then empowered by corporate compassion. I am humbled and so very proud of Maui’s grassroots efforts to lean into immediate generosity and firmly believe that their courage deserves corporate backing to sustain the days, months and years ahead.

I urge fellow industrial manufacturing partners, including my stakeholder peers of Hawaii’s Auto Dealers Association (HADA) and leadership across hospitality, transportation, retail, commerce and all tourism industries, to dig deeper in their response and commitment to Maui. The nation recently marked the 9/11 tragedy that occurred 22 years ago, and the recovery efforts continue to this day. The devastation of Maui’s Lahaina and Kula wildfires will require a bipartisan, industrywide, generous and compassionate corporate commitment, and for many years to come.

What can WE do, today, that will sustain tomorrow?

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To explore ways to contribute to the American Red Cross’s relief efforts in Maui, see www.redcross.org/donate/hawaiiwildfires.html.

Dennis Short is president of BMW of Hawaii.