Ron Wiley, the Charity Walk emcee, said the Saturday walk, which sent nearly a thousand walkers onto the three-mile Lihue loop, was not quite at the $700,000 goal.
“Da Slippah Drop spearheaded by Gather Federal Credit Union is sold out,” Wiley said. “So far, we’re at $630,000 — that’s more than the $610,000 contributed during the 2024 walk — toward the $700,000.”
Samira Siale, the Kauai Hawaii Lodging and Tourism Association executive director, announced that donations will be collected until the end of May. This would allow people to participate in the last Walk Wednesday live auction and book tickets for the Kauai Poke Festival at the Koloa Landing Resort.
Donations can also be made online at charitywalkhawaii.org/kauai. All funds raised on Kauai stay on Kauai to help the needs of nearly 60 local nonprofits that offer a variety of services to the island’s people.
One of the new facets of this year’s walk was the elimination of the distribution of plastic water bottles. Instead, walkers were encouraged to bring their own reusable water containers to stay hydrated. The water receptacles were refilled by the Department of Water crews, which utilized the upgraded version of the water pump system developed by Kapaa Coach Freddy Levinthol and used to irrigate the football teams from Kauai’s public high schools.
The local nonprofit groups benefiting from the Charity Walk also took an active role by sending out teams of walkers while operating informational tents, like Hale Opio, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year and will be hosting an End of Summer Bash in August. Hale Opio is also recruiting vendors for the free family event that will be set up in the Puhi Park open field, where Grove Farm hosts its weekly Grove Farm Market.
This year’s Charity Walk co-chairs included Aaron Bambling, general manager at the Koloa Landing Resort, and Michael Murphy, general manager at the Grand Hyatt Kauai Resort and Spa. Both gentlemen’s properties were heavily engaged with the sea of walkers, as the Grand Hyatt Kauai offered a loco moco-style beef stew and the Koloa Landing Resort actively solicited attendance at the Kauai Poke Festival, which in part benefits the Charity Walk.
This year’s festival, its fifth year, will take place at the Koloa Landing Resort on June 13 and 14. This is the first time the poke festival has been extended to include two days, with Chef Sam Choy and 30 teams competing for top poke honors.
The Kauai Poke Festival has earned distinction as one of America’s Top 10 Best Food Festivals.
The Charity Walk, founded in 1974 and expanded statewide in 1978, is the state’s largest single-day fundraising event by a nonprofit organization. Since starting with the Hawaii Lodging and Tourism Association, more than $47 million has been raised to support hundreds of local charities throughout the state.
