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Red Kettle donations of more than $706,000 support The Salvation Army’s social service programs.
The Salvation Army Hawaiian and Pacific Islands Division announced the annual Red Kettle campaign raised $706,555 across Hawaii and the Pacific Islands. In addition, The Salvation Army distributed 31,188 Angel Tree gifts during the 2018 holiday season. A final push by Red Kettle donors just before Christmas helped match the total raised in kettles during the previous 2017 holiday season.
Central Pacific Bank collected more than $190,000 in monetary and gift donations for the Angel Tree program. Hawaii News Now also supported the Angel Tree effort. And Burger King Hawaii, in partnership with Aloha United Way, collected more than $6,500 in monetary donations to support the keiki portion of the program.
“We are grateful to the many Hawaii and Pacific Island residents and visitors for their support last holiday season,” said Hawaiian and Pacific Islands Divisional Commander Major Jeff Martin. “Monetary donations in our Red Kettles supported our social service programs and the generous monetary gifts and in-kind donations to our Angel Tree program provided many smiles for keiki and kupuna on Christmas morning.”
The Salvation Army provided approximately 5,000 Thanksgiving holiday meals through annual events at locations statewide from Hanapepe to Honoka‘a, including the 48th annual Thanksgiving Meal at Blaisdell Center Exhibition Hall in Honolulu for approximately 2,000 guests. And thanks to the generosity of Hawaii’s own Bruno Mars, The Salvation Army provided an additional 24,000 individuals with Thanksgiving holiday meals through its “Share a Holiday Feast” partnership with Foodland.
In recapping the 2018 holiday season, Martin continued, “In particular, we’d like to thank our volunteers and employees for serving as bell ringers, Angel Tree gift sorters and gatherers, and as Thanksgiving meal volunteers across the state. Local retailers and businesses also provided space for our red kettles. In addition, we’re grateful for Angel Tree support by Central Pacific Bank with trees in all of their branches, for Aloha United Way’s partnership with Burger King Hawaii for register donations for keiki gifts, and for the many Angel Trees set up at many major malls, retailers and local businesses around the state.”
