NAWILIWILI – The 2004 Visitor Industry Charity Walk Committee hosted a mahalo get-together Thursday, and they had a lot of good news to share. Thirty-six Kaua‘i non-profit organizations garnered $140,000 from the Walk in June, making this year’s Charity Walk
NAWILIWILI – The 2004 Visitor Industry Charity Walk Committee hosted a mahalo get-together Thursday, and they had a lot of good news to share.
Thirty-six Kaua‘i non-profit organizations garnered $140,000 from the Walk in June, making this year’s Charity Walk a huge success.
“It’s a lot better than years before when the goal fell far short and requests would have to be cut back,” said Simon Jongert, manager of the Kaua‘i Marriott, who hosted the event.
Jongert said that the annual Walk, billed as one of the largest fund-raisers on Kaua‘i, met or exceeded all expectations. At least 2,000 walkers converged on the grounds of the Historic County Building earlier in the spring to help raise funds that would benefit Kaua‘i, and that support paid off in a big way for Kaua‘i’s non-profits.
A portion of the funds for the big event came from several smaller events held earlier in the year, such as the Bid For Bachelors, which was a new event that proved to be both fun and profitable. A bowling tournament also added to the cache, as did an island-wide car wash.
The success of the Charity Walk was enhanced by tremendous community support led by media, particularly Dickie Chang and Wala‘au Productions, who did pre-event interviews and aired footage from previous events, including radio personality Ron Wiley and the KONG Radio group, who covered the Walk live.
The goal for the 2005 event was set at $150,000 and Larry Lee, representing Chang of Wala‘au, made a surprise check presentation for $2,600 that will be earmarked for the 2005 Walk. Lee said that the money came from a golf tournament hosted earlier in the year celebrating Wala‘au’s 10th anniversary.
In addition to the non-profit organizations’ presentations, special awards were given to Time Warner Oceanic Cable for the Top Aid Station in last year’s walk, as well as recognition given to Eric Kaya of the Kaua‘i Marriott, who was the top recruiter.
In the interest of maintaining continuity and unity in the Walk, Jongert agreed to chair the 2005 Visitor Industry Charity Walk.
But there was a sad note at last week’s event when Deborah Baker announced her resignation from the Charity Walk committee after serving selflessly for five years. Her position will be taken up by Jolene Ogle of the Kaua‘i Marriott, and one of Ogle’s first responsibilities was to coordinate Thursday’s wrap-up.
The 2005 Visitor Industry Charity Walk will kick off in February with the hosting of the Bid for Bachelors.
