LIHU‘E — This year’s Visitor Industry Charity Walk hosted by the Hawai‘i Lodging &Tourism Association announced it raised more than $2 million in the association’s first-ever virtual walk.
LIHU‘E — This year’s Visitor Industry Charity Walk hosted by the Hawai‘i Lodging &Tourism Association announced it raised more than $2 million in the association’s first-ever virtual walk.
Participants on Kaua‘i were part of raising $261,478, the association announced Monday.
These monies will be distributed to more than 200 nonprofits around the state, with all monies raised on Kaua‘i being allocated to organizations based on the island.
“I was deeply gratified by the manner in which the local visitor industry and its supporters came out to participate in and support Charity Walk,” Mufi Hannemann, president and CEO of the Hawai‘i Lodging and Tourism Association, said in a release. “Looking at the fundraising amounts of previous years, I would have expected us to raise $500,000 or $1 million; to have raised more than $2 million is just outstanding.”
The Visitor Industry Charity Walk is a longstanding charity event first organized in 1974.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the annual walk was canceled in 2020 and relegated to a virtual format in 2021. Despite this limitation, engagement and participation were at all-time highs, ultimately resulting in near-record fundraising totals.
“Kaua‘i really showed off its fundraising prowess this year,” Charity Walk Kaua‘i Chair Beres Wall said. “While we can’t wait to host Charity Walk in-person again, we are well pleased with our fundraising efforts and look forward to distributing these monies to our nonprofit partners in support of their various missions.”
