Walk raises $1.74 million for Hawaii charities
Hawaii Lodging & Tourism Association's Brandon Barbour, Charity Walk chairwoman and general manager of The Royal Hawaiian Hotel Kelly Hoen, HLTA's George Szigeti, KINE's Bruddah Wade and Mayor Kirk Caldwell got 7,000 participants going Saturday at the Oahu Charity Walk Start Line.
The 36th annual Hawaii Lodging & Tourism Association Visitor Industry Charity Walk raised more than $1.74 million, with Maui raising the most money of any island.
The statewide event ended with walks on Oahu and Kauai Saturday and set a new record for donations.
A total of 14,281 walkers on Kauai, Oahu, Molokai, Lanai, Maui, and Hawaii Island participated in the fundraiser
Maui led other islands for the fourth consecutive year with a record $767,495 donated by 3,196 participants..
About 7,000 walkers on Oahu raised $390,000, followed by Hawaii Island with $276,218 raised by 1,700 walkers, and Kauai with 2,000 walkers raising $215,241. About 200 participants on Molokai raised $66,830 and 185 walkers on Lanai generated $29,217.
On Oahu, walkers started with breakfast and Hawaiian entertainment at Ala Moana Beach Park’s McCoy Pavilion and took a six mile route to Waikiki and back with food stations along the way and lunch and more entertainment at the end.
Since its inception in 1978, the charity walk has raised over $28 million for Hawaii charities.
