Advertiser Christmas Fund
Hawai'i's spirit of giving endures

By Rod Ohira
Advertiser Staff Writer

... to buy a headstone for the parents of a 6-week-old girl whose grave had been unmarked since her death six months ago.

... to find a job for a woman who came to Hawai'i from Guam with her husband seeking medical care for their son.

... to provide a Palama mother of four children with food and resource information.

... to donate an air conditioner to a quadriplegic and a fan for a blind Vietnamese man.

Those were among the generous responses to The Advertiser's 2001 Christmas Fund drive.

In a year marred by the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and thousands of jobs lost locally, Hawai'i has again shown its generosity of spirit.

	How to make a donation
•	Checks made payable to The Advertiser Christmas Fund should be mailed to
	Helping Hands Hawai'i
	P.O. Box 19155
	Honolulu, HI 96817
•	Donations may also be dropped off at any First Hawaiian Bank branch.
•	Anyone wishing to donate goods instead of money can do so at the Community Clearinghouse at 2100 N. Nimitz Highway near Pu'uhale Street. For details, call 536-7234.

Once again, an anonymous Santa has made a large contribution to the fund to make this a happier Christmas for needy Hawai'i residents.

So far, our Santa has given $28,175 in matching money. This is the 10th year our Santa has matched the first $25 of each donation to the Christmas fund.

"I'm just trying to help people," said the donor. "There are a lot of people who need our help and I hope it will encourage others to contribute to The Advertiser's Christmas Fund."

Through contributions of money and goods from readers, the needs of all those featured in daily stories the past 30 days will be satisfied.

"We've been inundated with requests for assistance and people wanting to help since the newspaper articles started coming out," said Helping Hands Hawai'i president Louise Funai.

"In one week's time, early December, we were getting 300 calls a day. In the past, we'd get a bunch of phone calls that peak as we got closer to Christmas. At its peak, we're talking a couple of dozen," she said.

The response overwhelmed the agency's staff, Funai said. "We had to hire two temps to help handle the volume of calls. The response has been so incredible it's scary."

For example, Helping Hands reported that 10 dining tables were donated shortly after a Nov. 26 story appeared about a mother and her six young children eating meals on the floor. The extra tables have been given to other families who needed them.

As of yesterday, contributions to The Advertiser Christmas Fund totaled $133,567.80. Donations are being accepted until Dec. 31. A portion of the money collected annually is used by Helping Hands to purchase food certificates and to handle emergency needs of clients during the year.

"We've been overwhelmed with the response of a lot of people wanting to help," said "R.V.," who came to Hawai'i from Guam on Easter Sunday with his wife seeking medical treatment for their ailing 6-year-old son. The boy's health has improved and the family is working to pay their medical bills. It was critical that R.V.'s wife find a job and, he said, she did.

Christmas came eight days ago for "B.D." and "L.C." The young couple placed flowers on the grave of their daughter after her donated headstone had been set in place. The red India granite headstone, valued at $1,200, was paid for by an anonymous donor.

"To whoever gave my daughter this headstone, I want to thank you very much," L.C. said. "Your thoughtfulness means a lot to us. We feel so much better knowing she has a headstone. This is really caring, and we know you could relate to what we were feeling. Thank you."

Lynne Akana, administrative assistant of Palama Family Service Center, contacted "P.T." when she learned from The Advertiser about the plight of the woman, who had no source of income and could barely feed her children.

Catholic Charities provided some money to pay her rent and The Salvation Army assisted with some food.

"She's doing better," Akana reported. "Someone adopted her family (for the holiday season) and we're assisting her with food and helping her to get reinstated with welfare. We've also located her runaway daughter."

Wendy Sefo, executive director of the American Diabetes Association in Hawai'i, contacted the disabled diabetic featured in last Wednesday's Christmas Fund story through her social worker.

ADA provided "H.S." with a month's supply of insulin, syringes, monitoring strips and a new monitor at no charge.

"That will buy us time to figure out what free medicine and supply coverage she can get," said Sefo, who encourages others in need to contact the ADA at 947-5979.

Giving has made this a brighter Christmas for many.

Thank you, Hawai'i.

Reach Rod Ohira at 535-8181 or rohira@honoluluadvertiser.com

Recent donations

In memory of David Garliepp and Billy Gibson Garliepp $25
In loving memory of Sai Im Say 25
In memory of Uncle "Bull" Sumida 25
In loving memory of Arthur W. Hoover 25
In memory of my beautiful maternal grandmother who passed away in October '94. Camila Castillo 30
In loving memory of Yutaka Zaan 50
In memory of Bernice Fujishima & Lillian Atkinson 50
In memory of Chiyo Ogawa 50
In loving memory of Charley 50
In memory of my beloved son Chris Yorong 100
In loving memory of Robby Petrovic 100
In memory of Harue Yokoyama 100
In memory of Kalani Kia 100
In memory of Takeshi Oshiro 100
In memory of BHK, Victoria, & Daniel 125
Edmund K. F. Loy 15
Renee Koizumi 20
Electra Fair 25
Uncle "Chang" Sumida 25
Kathleen Aihara 25
James T. Nagata 25
Florence DiBello Moser 25
Frank W. and Estela N. Hanhisalo 25
The staff of the Hawai'i State Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped 25
Al Ramelb 25
Eustace I. Suzuki 25
Jennifer Antone 25
Jacob Nishitomi 25
Tony & Sandy Lanias 25
The C. Chings 25
Christian Hamada 30
Joshua Cohen 30
Yuriko Hamada 30
Nadine Cohen 30
Miki Sugikawa 35
Alan J. Murashige 50
Linda Uchima 50
Reginald M. Gooding 50
James P. Rosenthal 50
Ellen Boneparth 50
Agnes P. Smith 50
Susan E. Sako 50
Information Technology Services, Building 37 — University of Hawai'i 50
Verna & Greg 60
Janice Sanders 75
Keani, Kale, Kaneil, and Kathy 80
Sihon Jones 100
Stuart Jones 100
Aili, Jayson, Travis 100
Sharon & Rod McPhee 100
Michelle Marincovich 100
Sally and Murray Macleod 100
Angelika S. Burgermeister 100
H. James Beecham III, M.D. 100
Jan Montgomery and Marya Grambs 100
Howard R. and Betty E. Hayashi 100
Stanley Hamada 110
Emily H. Harden 200
Katherine L. and Mychael Patrick 245
William Vanmanen, Pualei Pilai, and Kainoa Pilai 250
House Majority Staff Office 405
Curves for Women — Kapolei, Wahiawa, and Royal Kunia 2,549.50
Anonymous 20
Anonymous 20
Anonymous 50
Anonymous 50
Anonymous 100
Anonymous 100
Anonymous 100
Anonymous 100
Anonymous 100
Anonymous 200
Anonymous 225
Anonymous 500

Total $8,409.50
Anonymous Santa: $28,175
Total to date: $133,567.80

Previous stories

• Monday, Dec. 24: Daughter has no nice clothes for church
• Sunday, Dec. 23: Mother would like mattress pads for paralyzed sons
• Saturday, Dec. 22: Single mother needs stroller
• Friday, Dec. 21: Disabled man needs clothes, pots
• Thursday, Dec. 20: Couple with three young children seek house to rent, clothes for kids
• Wednesday, Dec. 19: Diabetic needs help with medication costs
• Tuesday, Dec. 18: King-size bed tops couple's wish list
 • Monday, Dec. 17: Disabled man seeks way to beat heat
 • Sunday, Dec. 16: Ex-con beachboy raising daughter
 • Saturday, Dec. 15: Crowded studio houses teen mom, relatives
 • Friday, Dec. 14: New bed is priority for family of four
 • Thursday, Dec. 13: Mother of three wants job to keep family from being homeless again
 • Wednesday, Dec. 12: Electric fan, microwave will help
 • Tuesday, Dec. 11: Vacuum sought for home of ailing child
 • Monday, Dec. 10: Household with seven children needs new refrigerator
 • Sunday, Dec. 9: Family lives in shed, seeks clothing
 • Saturday, Dec. 8: Children need bedroom furniture
 • Friday, Dec. 7: Stroke patient needs friend to get to therapy
 • Thursday, Dec. 6: Shriners patient needs shoes, transportation to appointments
 • Wednesday, Dec. 5: Clothing for sons welcome
 • Tuesday, Dec. 4: Ex-addict, abused wife reclaims life
 • Monday, Dec. 3: Disabled man seeks toy for grandson
 • Sunday, Dec. 2: Ailing son left family buried in bills
 • Saturday, Dec. 1: Woman says seventh child is chance to be good parent
 • Friday, Nov. 30: With its breadwinner laid off, family requests help for first time
 • Thursday, Nov. 29: Pacific immigrants struggle to stay here
 • Wednesday, Nov. 28: Couple forgo gifts, except for two keiki's
 • Tuesday, Nov. 27: Child's grave needs headstone
 • Monday, Nov. 26: Security officer, six children have to eat on floor
 • Sunday, Nov. $25: Holiday assistance badly needed this year