SAN ANTONIO ā As Malina Leeās hands work to decorate beautiful cakes, her mind is on Hawaii.
āIām from another island called Kauai. Itās a little bit north of Maui. I was born and raised there and my whole family still there,ā Lee said.
Lee is a one-woman-operation. Her cake company is called Sweet Grace, and she also teaches classes at Over the Top Cake Supply.
Then Lee takes her business to Hawaii when she visits family for a month or two each year.
āMy mom operates a tropical flower farm on Kauai. So I go home once a year and we work through the busy season together,ā Lee said.
Right after she got back to San Antonio this summer, fires began ravaging Maui.
āShock, and so much sadness. I canāt ever remember a time that something like this happened,ā she said.
What Lee does remember is when her own island of Kauai had a huge flood years ago.
āThe entire state came together and raised money and did everything they could to make sure that we were taken care of. And, so I feel like itās just our duty to do the same thing for Maui because weāre a big family,ā Lee said.
She is doing a raffle giveaway for one of her cakes.
āItās $2 per entry, and 100% of those donations are going to go to the Hawaii Community Foundation, which is a verified donation site in Maui. Theyāre on the ground now helping families with money, but also bedding, food, whatever they need right now,ā Lee said.
Then for the rest of the year, 2% of all her profits will go to Maui residents.
āThese people have lost everything. And to rebuild their homes and their lives, itās going to take a long time,ā Lee said.
To enter the raffle, head to the Sweet Grace SA website or social media pages on Instagram, Facebook and TikTok.
The winner will be announced via social media Aug. 21, and Lee will be listing how much money is being sent to the vetted organizations.
