Yoshiko “Dimples” Kano received a $300 donation Thursday for The Garden Island/Zonta Christmas Fund. That brought community contributions for the 2013 holiday season to $19,675.25. Combined with another $20,000 given by an anonymous benefactor through the Hawaii Community Foundation, donations
Yoshiko “Dimples” Kano received a $300 donation Thursday for The Garden Island/Zonta Christmas Fund.
That brought community contributions for the 2013 holiday season to $19,675.25. Combined with another $20,000 given by an anonymous benefactor through the Hawaii Community Foundation, donations climbed to $39,675.25.
And that, said Kano, feels pretty darn good.
“I am really, really happy,” she said.
Gifts to the fund benefited more than 600 children and adults. Social service agencies submitted about 275 cases for those seeking help.
There were more requests for food, clothes and other staples. When it came to children, bicycles and basketballs led the way.
“The need was up,” Kano said.
Kano, who has been leading the Christmas campaign since 2000, said there were five $1,000 donations this year, which she called “amazing.” Many were $100 or more, along with numerous gifts in the $25 range. Businesses, civic groups, visitors, residents, families and singles all pitched in steadily through the holidays.
She believes people responded to the challenge by the anonymous benefactor, who offered a two-to-one match for every donation to the fund, up to $10,000.
“When the challenge came out, that helped,” Kano said.
A fundraising concert and release of the CD “Water Songs” by Malani Bilyeu at Gaylord’s at Kilohana was also a huge success. An increase in publicity directed more attention to the Christmas fund.
This might be a record year for donations, she said. Another year also saw close to $20,000 come in. There have been many highlights over the years, with large gifts from locals and guests alike.
Each donated dollar is carefully recorded, accounted for and spent wisely.
Donations are distributed by Zonta Club members, who purchase gift certificates at appropriate businesses to help make wishes come true.
Kano said it wasn’t a complete surprise that community contributions topped 2011 and 2012 amounts by around $7,000.
There was something about this year’s campaign that felt different.
“It was kind an aura in the air this was going to happen,” she said.
