Iowa wrestling's Nanea Estrella raises money for those afflicted by Maui wildfires

Iowa women’s wrestling sophomore Nanea Estrella was packing her bags for Iowa City in her hometown of Makawao, Hawaii, on Aug. 8. Like any other student, she was crossing off the proverbial checklist of all the things she needed before she left for another year of school.

Then, a phone call from her boyfriend came through that afternoon, telling her a fire had started close to his home.

“I immediately just went to panic,” Estrella said. “We've had fires like this before, but this one where it started it was so close to houses and it was so close to everything that I just had a bad feeling that something bad was gonna happen.”

Fast forward to today, Lahaina and many parts of the island of Maui have been devastated by a series of wildfires. The death toll stands at 115 people, and hundreds are still missing. Thousands of homes, businesses and buildings have been reduced to ashes.

Estrella and her family, who are located in Makawao, Hawaii, have been fortunate enough to stay safe and not lose anything to the wildfires. The Hawkeye wrestler spent much of her time growing up in Lahainaluna, Hawaii, where she went to Lahainaluna High School. Because of that, many of the people close to her from her time in high school were not affected.

However, her boyfriend, best friend, high school coaches, teammates and businesses that she frequented while in high school lost everything, including homes, property, boats and more.

“It's just such a devastating situation,” Estrella said. “People that have been close to me and have been a part of my success have lost everything.”

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As soon as all of this happened, she knew she had to do something.

“The second that I saw the true impacts, the second that I was able to get ahold of my boyfriend's mom and just see videos and everything, I knew that I had to do something,” Estrella said.

Estrella stayed at home for a few more days than expected and began making calls. She contacted the Iowa Student Athletics Center and Iowa Athletics Community Engagement and Communications associate Macy Anderson to begin brainstorming ideas for a toy or food drive for her home. After meeting virtually, she eventually flew to Iowa City on Aug. 13 to meet with Iowa officials. They were all for helping make something happen.

Now, Estrella is spearheading efforts by Iowa Athletics to raise money and collect sports gear for people affected by the wildfires.

The money donated is being given to the Maui Food Bank, where $1,577.37 had been raised as of early this week. According to the donation site, 40% of those helped by the Food Bank are children.

You can donate to the Maui Food Bank at https://rb.gy/n7sl2.

Another goal is to get sports gear for Hawaii’s youth so they can still continue to compete, even if they lost their equipment.

“I've reached out to a lot of athletes back home who lost their houses and who lost everything,” Estrella said. “They also on top of that lost their sports gear and don't know if they're going to be able to compete this year.”

Related:'Hawaii is one family': Maui wildfire tragedy ripples across islands

Items can be dropped off at Iowa Book and Supply in Iowa City. Estrella is hoping to get more businesses to accept donations in the coming days.

Iowa volleyball has also partnered with Estrella, accepting donations at Fryfest on Friday at Xtream Arena in Coralville and during the Hawkeyes' home volleyball opener against Middle Tennessee State on Sept. 6 at 6 p.m..

“One of our own was directly impacted by the fires in Lahaina and it means so much that the University of Iowa and the athletic department is supporting the efforts to give back to the community that was devastated,” Iowa head women’s wrestling coach Clarissa Chun said in a release. “It shows a strong sense of community beyond just athletics here at Iowa, and it makes me proud to be a Hawkeye.”

The effects of the fires will reverberate for a long time. Estrella believes efforts like these can make a big difference in the meantime. The support she has received from what she calls her “new home” has already made a difference in her heart.

“The fact that this new community, who has taken me in and has treated me so well, were able to help me and they were hands down so involved and so happy to (help out with donations), it just made me feel so supported,” Estrella said. “It made me feel like this is another place that I can call home.”