CARLSBAD, Calif.– While residents of Lahaina, Maui are still recovering from the deadliest American wildfire in a century, those on the mainland continue to collect and send donations and much-needed supplies. However, organizing logistics and transportation and managing the volume of donations have been an ongoing challenge.
In an effort to help ease the pains of sending supplies to Maui, ShipCalm, an e-Commerce fulfillment and third-party logistics provider, recently partnered with two small businesses in North County San Diego to ensure donations landed directly in the hands of Lahaina locals.
The move comes after a successful donation drive at Carlsbad Brewing Co., where local residents donated items such as clothing, backpacks, towels, and toys. About 50 extra-large Igloo coolers were also donated, and were filled with the items and shipped to Maui, and distributed by a local boutique, Driftwood.
“People in our community really rallied and wanted to donate new items for families in Lahaina,” said Ally Lopez, a North Shore Maui native who co-led the donation drive and is owner of Oceanside, Calif.-based branding company Band of Martians. “This was a wonderful example of North County businesses coming together to support Lahaina, and it was a way for us to connect back home and know that we can make an impact for our families and friends back on the island.”
Lopez, who originally set up a GoFundMe campaign to raise funds for shipping costs, was connected to ShipCalm after searching for the most efficient and affordable way to send the donations to Maui.
“The shipping costs to Hawaii are astronomical, so it’s pretty incredible that companies like ShipCalm supported our efforts,” she said. “We could not have done it without ShipCalm.”
ShipCalm, known for its SaaS AI platform, SmartWarehouses™, covered the $5,000 worth of shipping costs to send the coolers and donations to Maui. ShipCalm worked with its partner, Approved Forwarding, to load the pallets and ensure all the shipping needs and logistics were handled properly and efficiently.
“Our expertise in shipping and logistics allows us to quickly navigate the time-pressed nature of disaster relief,” said ShipCalm CEO Greg Moser, who also has close ties to Maui. “It’s one thing to ship a box or two to Hawaii, but it’s another thing to ship 20 pallets of goods and organize trucking companies and boats. Removing that barrier to the donations was an added benefit we could provide.”
“Any time we can leverage our professional expertise to streamline the amazing work that others are doing, it’s a win-win,” Moser added. “We did it because we knew it would reduce the friction on getting these much-needed items directly to Lahaina residents.”
About ShipCalm
ShipCalm is an e-Commerce fulfillment and third-party logistics provider headquartered in Carlsbad, Calif. Founded in 2017, ShipCalm provides a number of logistics services aimed at helping online businesses solve their shipping problems. ShipCalm provides solutions for e-Commerce business owners with Amazon FBA prep, reverse logistics, kitting, packing and assembly, as well as e-Commerce shipping and warehousing. As the world-leading 3PO, ShipCalm provides complete operational solutions to digitally native brands, including a third-party operations platform that streamlines traditional operations with data and powerful AI.
