Campaign by Bankoh raises $613K

More than 500 Bank of Hawaii employees gathered in front of the downtown Hono­lulu branch Monday night for a special tree-lighting celebration that was held in conjunction with the bank’s annual Live Kokua Giving Campaign.

Bankoh employees and retirees raised a record-breaking $613,727 that was presented to 22 nonprofit beneficiaries during the celebration.

The five-week fundraiser was held from Aug. 25 through Sept. 26. The amount is more than any other donation in the campaign’s history, and surpasses the campaign goal of $575,000. Employees voted online to select the beneficiaries.

The amounts for each organization vary and are based on individual employee pledges to their preferred organizations. Bank of Hawaii, its foundation and bank employees donated more than $3 million overall this year to 416 different organizations.