BLOG: Mayors’ Charity Walks Garners $1.7M for Charity

Final results aren’t in, but it looks like Maui will be keeping bragging rights – in a squeaker — in the 2014 edition of the Visitor Industry Charity Walk.

The walks were held in each county earlier this month, featuring a friendly competition between the mayors to see which county would have the highest percentage increase over the year before.

With the bragging rights this year comes a handcrafted koa wood “slippah” plaque.

The real winners, of course, are the hundreds of charities across the state as this year’s events brought in a record $1.7 million.

All the money stays on the islands on which it was raised.

A total of 14,281 walkers took part this year, according to preliminary figures released by event organizer Hawai`i Lodging & Tourism Association.

That included 3,576 walkers in Maui County (including events on Molokai and Lanai) who brought in $856,542 for charity. That was a fourth straight record amount for any county, and represented a 22% increase over 2013.

The Big Island walk held May 10 at the Mauna Lani Resort attracted 1,700 walkers who brought in $276,218 in donations, a 21% increase over last year.

Last year, those proceeds were divvied up between 50 Big Island charities.

On Saturday, Oahu’s 7,000 walkers raised $390,000, which was about $62,000 less than last year; while Kauai had 2,000 walkers who brought in $215,241, a 7% increase over 2013.

Since the donations are still coming in, the actual presentation of the koa slippah won’t take place until mid-June.

More than $28 million has been raised for Hawaii charities since the Charity Walk began in 1978.