Donations from hundreds of generous people helped the Star-Advertiser’s Good Neighbor Fund exceed $100,000 in cash donations this year.

"The monies we raise from the Good Neighbor Fund enable us to help families throughout the year with emergency financial assistance payments, especially for families that are directly impacted by the economy because of job layoff or unexpected medical hardship," said Scott Mori-shige, director of the human services division and fund development for Helping Hands Hawaii, coordinator of the annual holiday fund drive.

More than 1,200 donors made monetary contributions totaling $102,474.69, Morishige said.

"We also had another 213 donors who ‘adopted’ a family for Christmas (helping with specific needs), and hundreds of other individuals who dropped off donations of clothing or food for someone in need,"he said.

Each year, Helping Hands Hawaii’s Community Clearinghouse helps more than 2,000 local families. "We would not be able to do this without the continued support of the community,"Morishige said.

"Helping Hands Hawaii is also grateful to our community partners First Hawaiian Bank, Hawaii News Now and the Star-Advertiser, who each helped to promote the Good Neighbor Fund and contribute to its continued success."

Betty Shimabukuro, Star-Advertiser managing editor for production, helped raise $6,098 for the Good Neighbor Fund this year through her Betty’s By Request recipes. The Star-Advertiser newsroom staff contributed another $2,518 through money raised from its newsroom bake sale and auction.

Donations to the Good Neighbor Fund